FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE 


BY  A  GRADUATE  OF  '69 


NEW  HAVEN,    CONN. 
CHARLES    C.    CHATFIELD   &    CO. 

1871 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

CHARLES  C.  CHATFIELD  &  Co., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C 


PREFACE. 


The  erroneous  and  absurd  ideas  which  very  many  intelligent 
people,  who  have  not  chanced  to  experience  it,  entertain  upon  the 
subject  of  college  life,  have  led  me  to  believe  that  a  minute  account 
of  affairs  as  they  exist  to-day  at  one  of  the  chief  American  colleges 
would  not  be  without  value  to  the  general  public,  nor  without 
interest  to  the  alumni  and  undergraduates  of  other  colleges  as 
well  as  of  the  one  described.  Hence,  though  not  without  some 
little  diffidence,  I  venture  to  offer  this  compilation  of  facts,  which  no 
one  has  ever  yet  taken  the  trouble  to  group  together,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  of  service  as  a  corrector  of  opinion  and  of  interest  as 
an  aid  to  the  memory. 

Looking  at  things  from  the  undergraduate  in  distinction  from  the 
official  stand-point,  I  have  given  as  little  attention  as  possible  to 
those  matters  which  a  formal  historian  would  render  prominent, 
and  have  gone  into  the  smallest  details  in  cases  which  he  would 
take  no  notice  of.  I  have  accounted  no  fact  too  trivial  or  insignifi 
cant  to  be  unworthy  of  record.  I  have  attached  no  moral  to  the 
most  important  one.  I  have  simply  endeavored  to  place  every 
scrap  of  evidence  fairly  before  the  reader,  leaving  him  to  decide  for 
himself  how  much  of  it  to  use  in  making  up  his  judgment.  I  have 
studiously  refrained  from  urging  any  idea  or  theory  of  my  own,  and 
have  endeavored,  in  cases  where  some  expression  of  opinion 
seemed  necessary,  to  offer  simply  the  prevailing  sentiment  of 
college.  Yet,  that  my  position  may  not  be  misunderstood,  I  have 
added  a  Concluding  Chapter,  for  the  expression  of  my  personal 
beliefs,  and  I  respectfully  ask  that  no  one  represent  anything  in  the 
book  as  an  "  opinion  "  of  mine  until  he  has  read  that  chapter.  Facts 
are  facts,  and  because  I  see  fit  to  describe  them  in  cold  blood,  with 
out  comment  of  any  sort,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  quoted  either  as 
approving  of  or  as  condemning  them. 

Some  of  my  statements  will  doubtless  be  distasteful  to  many. 
Some  may  be  called  untrue  or  unfair.  Especially  will  the  facts 

272553 


IV  PREFACE. 

offered  in  regard  to  the  Society  System  be  likely  to  arouse  ill-will. 
Now,  I  have  never  gone  out  of  my  way  to  pry  into  society  secrets  ; 
nor  have  I  attempted  any  betrayal  of  them.  I  have  simply  repeated 
the  current  beliefs  and  rumors,  without  pretending  to  vouch  for 
their  correctness.  Indeed,  as  a  society  man,  I  know  that  some  of 
the  things  reported  are  not  true  in  fact ;  but  I  have  taken  an  outside 
view  of  matters,  and  reported  nothing  save  what  a  man  learns— or  at 
least  might  easily  learn— who  never  enters  a  society-hall.  My  narra 
tions,  I  think,  on  the  whole,  tend  to  the  societies'  advantage  ;  and  if 
any  fierce  partisan  blames  me  for  having,  in  some  instances,  said 
too  much,  let  him  at  least  give  me  the  credit  for  having,  in  every 
instance,  kept  back  much  which  I  might  have  said.  As  I  was  left 
a  neutral  in  senior  year,  I  can  hardly  be  accused  of  having  much 
prejudice  in  favor  of  the  senior  societies,  and, if  I  have  treated  them 
with  fairness,  the  fact  may  perhaps  induce  some  to  believe  in  my 
ability  to  take  an  impersonal,  unprejudiced,  outside  view  of  the 
others  which  make  up  the  system. 

I  am  aware  that  the  arrangement  of  this  book  is  to  some  extent 
arbitrary.  I  accepted  it  only  as  a  choice  of  evils.  But  I  hope  that 
the  head-lines  placed  before  each  Chapter,  and  the  Index  at  the 
end,  may  in  great  part  compensate  for  this  defect.  I  know,  too, 
that  there  are  in  it  many  repetitions  and  some  seeming  contradic 
tions  and  inconsistencies.  I  perceive  how  easy  it  will  be  to  mis 
quote  my  work,  and  to  use  isolated  and  disconnected  portions  of  it 
to  the  detriment  of  particular  interests  of  the  college,  or  even  of  the 
institution  itself.  I  regret  the  fact  most  keenly ;  yet,  after  all,  such 
snap-judgments  are  of  less  account  than  deliberate  opinions  drawn 
from  a  full  consideration  of  all  the  facts,  and  I  firmly  believe  that 
anyone  who  reads  this  book  to  the  end  will  have  no  worse  opinion 
of  Yale  life  from  knowing  what  it  really  is.  If  the  event  proves 
otherwise,  "  so  much  the  worse  for  the  facts " ;  but  these  ought 
none  the  less  to  be  made  known.  What  I  ask  is,  that  they  should 
all  be  taken  into  account ;  and  that  hasty  conclusions  should  not 
be  jumped  at,  from  a  partial  or  one-sided  glance  at  the  evidence. 

Covering  as  it  does  a  ground  never  before  touched  upon,  this 
book  must  inevitably  contain  many  errors  in  its  facts  and  state 
ments  ;  for,  though  I  have  given  the  largest  attention  to  detailing 
things  known  to  my  own  experience,  I  have  of  necessity  been 
obliged  to  trust  to  hear-say  and  tradition  for  many  of  my  assertions. 
I  shall,  therefore,  most  gladly  receive  any  corrections  or  additions, 
which  may  be  offered  to  my  notice,  either  publicly  or  privately,  by 
those  who  are  able  to  make  them,  in  order  that,  should  a  second 


PREFACE.  V 

edition  be  called  for,  it  may  be  made  more  perfect  than  the  present 
one.  It  is  equally  inevitable  that  the  book,  being  the  production  of 
a  young  and  unpractised  writer,  must  contain  many  errors  of 
expression,  and  special  literary  defects ;  and  I  ask  of  the  critics 
who  may  happen  to  notice  it,  that,  as  a  particular  favor,  they  will, 
if  they  condemn  my  literary  execution,  be  good  enough  to  descend 
into  the  details  of  the  matter,  and  not  dismiss  it  with  a  few  general 
maledictions.  The  latter  would  probably  do  no  one  any  good,  but 
the  former  might  be  a  real  benefit  to  me,  as  I  make  no  pretensions 
to  excellence,  and  am  not  yet  too  old  to  learn. 

One  thing  more.  I  have  written  this  book  impersonally  and 
published  it  anonymously.  No  officer  of  the  college,  or  member  of 
my  class,  has  had  any  knowledge  of  it,  or  connection  with  it.  Of 
course  every  one  who  knows  me  will  be  likely  to  at  once  recognize 
me  in  these  pages,  and  of  course  I  am  perfectly  willing  thus  to  be 
recognized.  But  one  thing  I  do  ask,  and  that  is  that  those  who 
know  me  will  refrain  from  dragging  my  personality  before  the 
public.  For  the  one  and  only  thing  which  it  concerns  the  public 
to  know,  in  forming  its  opinion  of  what  I  have  written,  is  the  thing 
which  I  have  announced  upon  the  title-page,  in  saying  that  I  am 

A  GRADUATE  OF  '69. 
JUNE  17,  1871. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 

HISTORICAL  A*ND  EXPLANATORY, i 

Origin  of  Yale  College — Its  Early  Wanderings — The  First  Col 
lege  Hall — Elihu  Yale  —  The  Rival  Commencements  of  1718  — 
Restoration  of  Harmony — Religious  Tests — The  Nine  Presidents — 
Relations  between  the  State  and  the  College — Members  of  the  Cor 
poration—Proposed  Change  in  the  Charter— Organization  of  the 
Faculty— Division  of  Responsibility— Position  of  the  College  Yard 
—Construction  of  the  Brick  Row:  South  Middle,  1750;  Athe 
naeum,  1761;  South,  1793;  North  Middle  and  Lyceum,  1800 ; 
North,  1821  ;  Chapel,  1824;  Divinity,  1835— Situation  of  the  Dor 
mitories—The  Central  Row:  Laboratory,  1782;  Cabinet,  1819; 
Treasury,  1832— The  High  Street  Row  :  Library,  1842  ;  Alumni 
Hall,  1853  ;  Ait  Building,  1864— Proposed  Removal  of  the  College 
— Final  Adoption  of  the  Reconstruction  Plan— The  Two  New  Dor 
mitories  —  Presidents'  Houses  —  Gymnasium  —  The  Theological 
School— The  Law  School— The  Medical  School— The  Sheffield 
Scientific  School— College  Men  and  School  Men— The  Patrons  of 
the  College  —  Its  Financial  Condition  —  Vocabulary  of  College 
Words — List  of  Publications  relating  to  Yale. 

PART  FIRST. 

THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM. 
CHAPTER  I. — FRESHMAN  SOCIETIES,    ....     51 

Development  of  the  Modern  System— Kappa«6igma  Epsilon— 
Delta  Kappa— Gamma  Nu— Sigma  Delta — Election  of  Active  and 
Honorary  Members— Catalogues— The  Outside  Chapters  and  Sta 
tistics  of  Membership — The  Society  System  in  Other  Colleges — 
Badge  Pins  and  Mottoes — Halls  and  Mode  of  Renting  Them — 
Electioneering — Initiation — Suppers — Interference  of  Upper-class 
Men— Farewell  Ceremonies  of  the  Sophomores — Meetings  anp 

I* 


Viil  CONTENTS. 

Exercises — "Peanut  Bums  "—Treatment  of  Intruders— Officers 
and  the  Campaign  Election — Coalitions — System  of  Electioneering 
—  Initiation  Committees'  Supper  —  Expenses  of  Membership  — 
Society  Zeal  and  its  Gradual  Decline — Significance  of  Prize  Lists — 
Notable  Members  —  Comparison  of  the  Societies  —  Anomalous 
Position  of  Gamma  Nu — Initiation  Fables  and  their  Origin — 
Theory  of  the  Supper  Business — Advice  to  sub-Freshmen. 

CHAPTER  II. — SOPHOMORE  SOCIETIES,      ...     87 

Kappa  Sigma  Theta— Alpha  Sigma  Phi— Phi  Theta  Psi— Delta 
Beta  Xi — The  Yale  "Banger"  and  "Tomahawk" — Chapters — 
Posters  and  Song  Books — Electioneering  and  Pledging — Giving 
out  Elections  —  Initiation  —  Ordinary  Exercises  —  Singing — Class 
Elections — The  Sophomore  Type. 

CHAPTER  III.— JUNIOR  SOCIETIES,     .     .     .     .     106 

Alpha  Delta  Phi — Psi  Upsilon — Delta  Kappa  Epsilon — Badges, 
Vignettes  and  Mottoes — Catalogues,  Chapters  and  Membership — 
The  Death  of  Old  Chapters  and  the  Origin  of  New  Ones — Names 
of  Prominent  Members  —  General  Conventions  —  Intercourse 
between  the  Chapters — Giving  out  Elections — Initiation — Meetings 
and  Exercises— Halls— Corporate  Titles— The  Course  of  Politics 
in  '69  (the  Freshman  Societies  ;  the  Annual  Dinner  Committee  ; 
the  Gamma-Nu-Delta-Phi  Embroglio ;  the  Cochs  and  "Lit." 
Editors)— The  Effect  upon  Delta  Phi— Agreements  concerning  the 
Freshmen — Real  Character  of  a  Coalition — The  Division  of  the 
Spoils — The  Contested  Elections  of  Members — Duration  of  Society 
Influences — Comparison  of  the  Societies. 

CHAPTER  IV. — SENIOR  SOCIETIES,     ....     142 

Peculiarities  of  these  Societies — Skull  and  Bones — Its  Badge  Pin 
and  Numeral —  Hall  and  Corporate  Title — Origin — Catalogue — 
Mode  of  Giving  out  Elections — Initiation — Mode  of  Summoning 
Members  to  the  Annual  Convention — Attendance  upon  the  Regular 
and  Special  Meetings— Peculiar  Customs  and  Traditions— Scroll 
and  Key— Its  Badge  Pin  and  Vignette— Hall  and  Corporate  Title 
—Origin  and  Growth— Customs  and  Traditions— Spade  and  Grave 
— Its  Origin,  Precarious  Existence,  Change  of  Name,  and  Final 
Catastrophe — The  Societies  and  the  Neutrals — Bull  and  Stones — 
The  Coffin  of  '69 — The  Tea-Kettle  of  '53 — Crown  and  Scepter — 
Star  and  Dart— Notable  Members  of  the  Existing  Societies— Mode 
of  Packing  and  Making  up  a  Crowd — Comparison  of  the  Societies 
—Their  "Policies,"  Actual  and  Possible— Failure  of  their  Imitators 


CONTENTS.  ix 

in  Other  Colleges — General  Facts  about  all  the  Class  Societies — 
Comparison  of  their  Importance  in  Each  Year — General  Result  of 
the  System. 

CHAPTER  V.— SOCIETY  INSTITUTIONS,    ...     190 

Linonia,  and  Brothers  in  Unity — Their  Origin  and  Early  His 
tory — Rivalry  in  Gaining  Members — The  Statement  of  Facts — The 
Campaign,  a  Dozen  Years  Ago — The  Rush — Latest  Modes  of  Dis 
tributing  the  Freshmen — Initiation — Meetings  and  Exercises — Exhi 
bitions — Officers,  Politics,  and  the  Campaign  Election — Attendance 
— Management  of  the  Finances — The  Society  Halls — Catalogues — 
Libraries — Reading  Room — The  College  Bookstore — The  Prize 
Debates — Annual  and  Centennial  Celebrations — Analysis  of  the 
Society  Tax  of  1869-70— Calliope  and  Phoenix— Phi  Beta  Kappa — 
Its  Origin  and  Peculiar  Organization — Names  of  the  Chapters — 
Meetings  and  Exercises — Orations  and  Poems — Qualifications  for 
Membership — An  Invasion  of  Barbarians — The  Society  Badge  Key 
— Initiation — The  Annual  Business  Meeting — Catalogues — Signifi 
cance  of  the  Fraternity— Chi  Delta  Theta— Its  Literary  Character 
—The  Present  Wearers  of  its  Badge. 

PART  SECOND. 

THE   STUDENT   LIFE. 

CHAPTER  I.— FRESHMAN  YEAR, 237 

Board  and  Lodging — Eating  Clubs — Their  Formation  and  Char 
acteristics — Names,  Mottoes  and  Devices — The  College  Club  or 
Commons — The  Old  Commons  Hall  System— The  Old  Buttery — 
Smoking  Out— Stealing— Hazing — Put  Out  That  Light !— Rushing 
— The  Foot-Ball  Game — The  Painting  Disgrace — Gate  Lifting — 
Lamp  Smashing— Thanksgiving  Jubilee — As  it  was  Known  to  '69 
— Its  Previous  Origin  and  Growth — Interference  of  the  Faculty — 
The  Last  Jubilee— Its  Character  in  the  Future— Pow- Wow — The 
Annual  Dinner,  and  its  Predecessor,  the  Biennial  Jubilee  —  The 
Freshman  Laws  of  the  Last  Century— The  Old  Manner  of  Lec 
turing. 

CHAPTER   II.— SOPHOMORE  YEAR,     ....     287 

Rooming  in  College — Drawing  and  Choosing  the  Rooms— Trad 
ing  of  Choices— Rooming  Alone — Packing  an  Entry — Moving — 
Rent— Buying  and  Selling  Furniture— Fuel,  Water  and  Light — 
Sweeps,  Regular  and  Private — Paraphernalia  of  a  Student's  Room 
—Its  Self-Invited  Visitors— Candy  Sam,  Hannibal,  Fine  Day,  and 


X  CONTENTS. 

the  Rest— The  Tricks  Sometimes  Played  upon  Them— The  College 
Police,  and  the  Extent  of  their  Interference — The  Charm  of  Dormi 
tory  Life — Sitting  on  the  Fence — Unsuccessful  Attempt  to  Break  up 
the  Practice — Cause  of  the  Failure — Out-door  Singing — Origin  of 
the  Practice,  and  of  the  Songs — Glee  Clubs,  Cecilia  and  Beethoven 
— The  Latter's  Connection  with  the  College  Choir — R.  S.  Willis's 
Account  of  It — And  its  First  Concert — Its  Recent  Character  and 
Membership — Concerts  and  their  Profits — Sophomoric  Abuse  of 
Freshmen — Public  Sentiment  concerning  It — Areopagus — Nu  Tau 
Phi — Omega  Lambda  Chi — A  Mock  Initiation — Compromises  with 
the  Faculty — Burning  the  Coal  Yard — Base  Ball— Yale  against 
Harvard — The  Record  with  other  College  and  Professional  Clubs 
— Places  and  Times  Devoted  to  the  Sport — Entertainment  of  Vis 
itors — The  Burial  of  Euclid — As  Described  in  1843 — Fifteen  Years 
Later — Davenport's  Lithograph — The  Last  Celebration  of  the  Rite 
— Similar  Ceremonies  Elsewhere. 

CHAPTER   III.— JUNIOR   YEAR, 327 

Boating-— The  Decade  Ending  in  1853 — Organization  of  the  Yale 
Navy — Catalogue  of  Boats-^-Formation  of  Permanent  Boat  Clubs 
in  1860— Their  Boats— Adoption  of  the  Present  System  in  1868-70 
— Third  List  of  Boats — Riker's  and  the  Boat  House  of  1859 — 
Dedication  of  the  Present  Boat  House— Incorporation  of  the  Navy 
— The  Boat  House  Lease — Payment  of  the  Debt  by  the  Commo 
dore  of '70 — The  Annual  Commencement  Regattas,  1853-58 — The 
Fall  Races,  1859-67— Course  of  the  Champion  Flag,  1853-71— The 
Regattas  on  Lake  Saltonstall — The  Phelps  Barge  Races  and  the 
Southworth  Cup  — Irregular  Regattas,  1856-65  —  Uniforms  and 
Flags— Yale  and  Harvard — The  First  Period,  1852-60 — The  Sec 
ond  Period,  1864-70— The  Lesser  Races  of  this  Period— The  Seven 
Great  University  Races— Regatta  Day  at  Worcester — Student  Row 
dyism — Blue  and  Red — Betting— Dress,  Training  and  Trainers- 
Attempt  to  Belittle  Yale's  Triumph  in  1865 — The  Foulings  of  1870, 
and  the  Resulting  Complications — Refusal  of  Harvard  to  Answer 
the  Challenge  for  1871— The  Seven  University  Crews — Gymnastics 
— The  Practice  of  Boating  Men— The  Favorite  Hour  for  Exercise 
— The  Annual  Exhibition— The  Wooden  Spoon  Presentation — Ori 
gin  of  the  Idea — Mode  of  Electing  the  Cochleaureati — Political 
Considerations — Initiation,  and  the  Spoon — "  Insigne  Cochleaurca- 
torum" — The  Temple  Exhibitions— Humbugging  an  Audience — 
Brewster's  and  Music  Halls — The  Opening  Loads — Philosophical 
Orations— Changes  in  the  Exhibition— Its  Increased  Cost,  and  How 


CONTENTS.  xi 

it  was  Met— Mode  of  Distributing  Tickets  and  Reserved  Seats- 
Character  of  the  Audience  — The  Promenade  Concert— Society 
Statistics— Abolition  of  the  Spoon  Presentation  by  '72— Proposed 
Substitute  for  the  Exhibition  and  Concert. 

CHAPTER  IV.— SENIOR  YEAR, 424 

Journalism— The  Yale  Literary  Magazine— Election  of  Editors 
—Initiation  Supper— Chi  Delta  Theta— Organization  and  Manage 
ment  of  the  Magazine— Its  Printers  and  Publishers— Mode  of  So 
liciting  Subscriptions — Number  of  Subscribers — Back  Numbers 
and  Sets— Paying  the  Printer— The  Repudiated  Debt  of  1858— Col 
lecting  Subscriptions— Profit  and  Loss — Advertisements— The  Lit. 
Prize  Medal— Class  and  Society  Connections  of  the  Winners — 
Character  of  the  Medal  and  the  Essay — Typographical  Changes — 
Editorial  Independence  in  '64— Theory  of  After  Elections — The 
Original  Literary  Ideal — Gradual  Growth  of  the  Mirror-of-Collegc- 
Life  Theory — Contributors — The  General  Index  of  1868 — Illustra 
tions  and  Typography — The  Position  of  Editor — Notable  Gradu 
ates  of  the  Lit.  Office — Society  Statistics  of  the  Editors — Repre 
sentative  Character  of  the  Magazine — Its  Predecessors  :  Literary 
Cabinet,  Athenaeum,  Crayon,  Sitting  Room,  Student's  Companion, 
Little  Gentleman,  Gridiron,  Medley — The  Yale  Review  and  Yale 
Literary  Quidnunc — The  University  Quarterly — Its  Mode  of  Publi 
cation — Organization  of  the  Quarterly  Asssociation — Names  of  the 
Colleges  Composing  It — The  Yale  Men  and  Their  Work — Editorial 
Convention — Finances  and  Prizes — Credit  Due  the  Publishers — 
The  Yale  Banner,  Pot  Pourri,  and  Other  Catalogues — Minor  Papers 
and  Feuilletons — The  College  Courant — Its  Humble  Origin  in  1865 
— Change  of  Name  and  Management  in  1867 — Advertisements — 
The  Undergraduate  Department — Society  Connections  of  the  Edi 
tors — The  New  Yale  Courant  of  the  Undergraduates — Printers  and 
Typography — Recent  Make-up  of  the  College  Courant — Class  Pic 
tures — How  Procured—  How  Distributed  and  Exchanged —  The 
New  Plan — Origin  of  the  Custom — Varieties  of  Pictures,  1847-71 
—Class  Seals  and  Mottoes — Memorabil  and  Its  Collectors — Pres 
entation  Day— The  Original.  Formalities — As  Celebrated  in  1778 
and  Afterwards — The  Modern  Poem  and  Oration — Announcement 
of  Prizes — The  Faculty's  Collation — Election  of  Orator  and  Poet — 
Course  of  Senior  Politics  in  '69 — Society  Statistics— General  Good 
Feeling — Plagiarism — Presentation  Afternoon —  Class  Histories 
and  Historians — The  True  Test  of  College  Wit  and  Humor — Class 
Statistics — The  Ring  and  Triangle — Under  the  Elms — Singing,  an 


XI 1  CONTENTS. 

Obsolete  Custom  —  Reading  the  Histories  —  Planting  the  Ivy — 
Cheering  the  College  Buildings  and  Professors— Saying  the  Last 
Farewell— History  of  the  Class  Ivies— Incidents  and  Accidents  of 
the  Day. 

CHAPTER  V.— TOWN  AND  GOWN, 500 

Bullyism— Capture  of  the  Bully  Club— Election  of  Bullies— Their 
Duties  and  Privileges— The  Fight  of  Bully  against  President— Its 
Culmination  in  1840— Abolishment  of  Bullyism— Preservation  of 
the  Club— Town  and  Gown-— the  Firemen's  Riot  of  1841 — The 
"City Guard1'  and  the  "Banner"— The  Riot  of  1854— Preliminary 
Hostilities  — The  Attack— Death  of  the  Rioters'  Ringleader- 
Frenzy  of  the  Mob— South  College  to  be  Bombarded— The  Siege 
Abandoned — Preparations  for  the  Defence— Coroner's  Investigation 
—The  Popular  Verdict— The  High  street  Fracas  of  1858— Who 
Fired  the  Fatal  Shot  ?— The  Stafford  Homicide  of  1860— The 
Stabbing  of  a  College  Officer  in  1843  — The  Students  and  the 
Peelers— Cause  of  their  Enmity— The  Knock-down  of  1870— The 
City  Tradesmen  and  their  College  Customers— The  Old  Sumptuary 
Laws — Present  Habits  in  Dress — Disregard  of  Family  or  Local 
Pretensions — Politics  and  the  Suffrage — The  Student  in  Society — 
College  Widows — Society  and  the  Mission  Schools — Prayer  Meet 
ings — The  Missionary  and  other  Religious  Societies — The  Tem 
perance  Society— Drinking  and  Licentiousness — Swearing,  Smok 
ing,  Chewing,  Billiard  Playing  and  Gambling— Cards,  Chess,  and 
Velocipedes  —  Sailing  Excursions  —  Camping  Out  on  the  Thimbles  — 
Walking,  Foot-Racing,  Skating  and  Driving — Obituary  Customs — 
Post-Graduate  Class  Meetings— The  Class  Records — Exercises  of 
a  Class  Reunion— Origin  of  the  Ciass  Cup — The  First  Cup  Presen 
tation  of '44— Changes  in  the  Custom— Recent  Abandonment  of 
the  Ceremony, 

PART  THIRD. 

THE   OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM, 
CHAPTER  I.— STUDIES, 542 

The  Entrance  Examinations--- White  and  Blue  Papers— When  to 
Attend— How  to  be  Prepared — Quantity  and  Quality— Advanced 
Students— Organization  of  the  Class — The  Recitation  Rooms  and 
Recitations— Mode  of  Instruction — Exceptional  Pronunciation  of 
Greek  Society-Letters-^Optional  Work — The  Term  Examinations 
— The  Annuals— The  Studies  Pursued  by  the  Class  of  '69 — Fresh- 


CONTENTS.  xi  11 

man  Year— Sophomore  Year--Junior  Year— Senior  Year— Varia- 
tions  and  Changes  in  the  Curriculum— The  Studies  of  a  Century 
Ago— Old  Systems  of  Examination. 

CHAPTER  II.— MARKS, 569 

Morning  Prayers— The  Ordinary  Ceremonies— Sunday  Services 
— The  College  Church  and  its  Members — Attending  City  Churches 
—The  College  Choir  and  Organ— Government  by  Marks — .Schedule 
of  Penalties — "  The  Course  of  Discipline  "—Monitors  and  Their 
Duties— Matriculation— Scholarship  by  Marks. — Time  and  Mode  of 
Giving  out  Stands  —  Making-up  Omitted  Lessons— Excuses  and 
Church  Papers  — Leaves  of  Absence  —  Letters  Home— Official 
Hieroglyphics — Appealing  to  the  Faculty — Living  Regulations  and 
Dead  Laws — Origin  and  Growth  of  the  'Code — Discipline  in  the 
Olden  Time— Fines,  "Degradation,"  and  "Cuffing"— The  Modern 
Theory  of  Discipline — The  Recent  Experiment  in  Division. 

CHAPTER  III.— HONORS, 590 

Appointments  for  Junior  Exhibition  and  Commencement. — How 
they  are  Determined  and  Announced— The  Amount  of  Exertion 
which  they  Call  Forth — Stand,  as  Popularly  Regarded—"  Scholars 
of  the  House" — The  Berkeley  Scholarship — Sheldon  Clark,  and 
his  Donations — The  Bristed  Scholarship — Freshman  Scholarships  • 
Woolsey,  Hurlbut  and  Runk — DeForest  Scholarship  for  Modern 
Languages — Beneficiary  Funds — The  Ilarmer  Foundation — The 
DeForest  Fund — Premiums  for  Translation  and  Latin  Composition 
— Miscellaneous  Clark  Awards— Prizes  in  Astronomy  and  Mathe 
matics — Declamation  Prizes  :  Old  and  New  Modes  of  Awarding 
Them — Prizes  for  English  Composition— Prize  Poems— New  Mode 
of  Awarding  the  Composition  Prizes—"  Honorary  Mentions  "for 
the  Seniors— The  Townsend  Premiums,  and  the  DeForest  Medal 
—Speaking  for  the  Prize— Statistics  of  the  DeForest  Men— Total 
Prize  and  Scholarship  Funds  of  the  College — General  Effects  of 
the  Honor  System. 

CHAPTER  IV.— MANNERS,    .     ....     .     .;  ..     620 

Skinning — Ordinary  Methods — Blackboard  Work — Conies  and 
Chemistry  in  '69 — At  Term  Examination — Stealing  the  Papers — 
Hands  and  Feet — Skinning-Machines  —  Indexing  a  Subject — A 
Unique  Fraud  Detected — Swapping  the  Papers — The  Yale  and 
Williams  Chemists  of  '68— At  Annual— The  Type  and  Pencil 
Game — Watch-Chrystals  and  Eye-Glasses—Pocket  Skinning  in  '67 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

and  '55— Calculations  for  Cramming— Robbing  the  Printers- 
Attempted  Seizure  of  the  Puckle  Paper  of  '69— How  a  Baffled 
Thief  at  last  Succeeded—Working  up  a  Case— Inner  and  Outer 
Rings— Cheating  on  Make-ups — Accidental  Erasures — Ponying-*- 
Composition  Frauds — How  Marks  are  Got  Rid  of — Precautions 
and  Penalties — College  Sentiment  in  Regard  to  Deceiving  the 
Faculty — Behavior  in  the  Recitation  Rooms — At  Lectures — In  the 
Chapel — How  Faculty  and  Students  Address  and  Refer  to  Each 
Other  — Farewell  Cheers  for  the  Instructors  —  Absence  of  the 
Rebellious  Spirit — Insolent  Tricks  Discountenanced — The  Faculty 
Personally  Respected. 

CHAPTER  V.— SHOWS, 659 

Junior  Exhibition — Time  and  Place  of  Holding  It — Its  Recent 
Transformation  —  Managers  and  Invitation  Notes  —  The  Exer 
cises  and  their  Value— The  Promenade  Concert  — Commence 
ment — Rules  for  the  Attendance  of  the  Seniors— The  Procession 

—  Arrangement   of  the    Audience  —  The   Speakers  and  the  Lis 
teners—Conferring  the  Degrees  —  The  Dinner  and  the  Evening 

—  Recent   Changes  in  the  Show  — Its  Celebration  in  the  Olden 
Time— Gunpowder,  Rum  and  Riot— The  Official  Calendar — The 
Society  of  the  Alumni— Concio  ad  Clerum— The  Obituary  Rec 
ord —  The   General    Statement  — The    Annual    Catalogue  — The 
Triennial  Catalogue— The  Alumni  Associations  in  the  Cities. 

CONCLUDING   CHAPTER. 

A  MATTER  OF  OPINION, 686 

Caution  to  the  Reader — Two  Kinds  of  Preparation  for  College — 
The  Best  Fitting-Schools  —  The  Society  System  —  Its  General 
Fairness — A  Word  for  the  Reformers — The  Abuse  of  Freshmen 
— A  Disgraceful  Puzzle  for  Moralists — Modern  Languages  and 
Optional  Studies — A  "Practical"  Argument  for  Classical  Dis 
cipline —  The  Last  American  Stronghold  of  the  Humanists  — 
Procrusteanism  and  Common  Sense — The  Claims  of  the  Muscle 
Men — And  of  the  Supporters  of  all  Honorable  Customs — Who 
Best  Enjoy  College  Life  ?— The  Real  Value  of  the  Training- 
Pecuniary  Needs  of  the  College— The  Rewards  of  Doing  Much 
from  Little — Unselfish  Devotion  of  the  College  Officers — A  Cry 
from  Macedonia, 


FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

HISTORICAL    AND    EXPLANATORY. 

Origin  of  Yale  College— Its  Early  Wanderings — The  First  College 
Hall— Elihu  Yale — The  Rival  Commencements  of  1718 — Res 
toration  of  Harmony — Religious  Tests — The  Nine  Presidents — 
Relations  between  the  State  and  the  College — Members  of  the 
Corporation — Proposed  Change  in  the  Charter — Organization 
of  the  Faculty — Division  of  Responsibility — Position  of  the 
College  Yard — Construction  of  the  Brick  Row  :  South  Middle, 
1750;  Athenaeum,  1761;  South,  1793;  North  Middle  and  Ly 
ceum,  1800;  North,  1821  ;  Chapel,  1824;  Divinity,  1835 — Situ 
ation  of  the  Dormitories — The  Central  Row  :  Laboratory,  1782  ; 
Cabinet,  1819  ;  Treasury,  1832 — The  High  Street  Row  :  Li 
brary,  1842 ;  Alumni  Hall,  1853  ;  Art  Building,  1864— Pro 
posed  Removal  of  the  College — Final  Adoption  of  the  Recon 
struction  Plan — The  Two  New  Dormitories — Presidents'  Houses 
— Gymnasium — The  Theological  School — The  Law  School — 
The  Medical  School — The  Sheffield  Scientific  School— College 
Men  and  School  Men — The  Patrons  of  the  College — Its  Finan 
cial  Condition — Vocabulary  of  College  'Words — List  of  Publi 
cations  relating  to  Yale. 

Yale  College  is  situated  in  the  city  of  New  Haven,  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  It  dates  back  its  origin  to  the 
very  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Fifty  years 
before  that,  the  project  of  establishing  such  an  insti 
tution  had  been  discussed,  only  to  be  finally  pronounced 
impracticable,  both  on  account  of  the  poorness  of  the 
colony,  and  of  the  superior  claims  of  Harvard  upon 


2  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  patronage  of  all  friends  of  learning  throughout  New 
England.  But,  as  the  century  drew  near  its  end,  the  old 
plan  was  revived  and  became  the  great  topic  of  interest 
among  clergy  and  laity,  until,  at  last,  ten  of  the  princi 
pal  ministers  of  Connecticut,  representing  as  many  dif 
ferent  towns,  were  nominated  and  appointed  by  general 
consent  to  act  as  trustees  and  managers  of  the  embryo 
college.  They  first  met  and  formed  a  society  for  the 
prosecution  of  their  project,  at  New  Haven,  sometime 
in  the  year  1700;  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  the 
same  year,  at  Branford,  each  of  the  trustees  brought  a 
number  of  books  and  presented  them  to  the  association, 
using  words  to  this  effect  as  he  laid  them  on  the  table : 
"  I  give  these  books  for  the  founding  of  a  college  in 
this  colony."  This  act  of  depositing  the  books  has  ever 
since  been  considered  the  beginning  of  the  college. 
The  entire  donation  consisted  of  about  forty  folio  vol 
umes,  valued  at  thirty  pounds  sterling..  As  doubts  were 
entertained  as  to  whether  the  trustees  could  legally  hold 
lands,  and  the  new  institution  be  supported  wholly  by 
private  contributions,  application  was  made  to  the  Co 
lonial  Assembly,  which — October  9,  1701 — duly  ratified 
a  charter  which  some  Boston  gentlemen  had  drawn  up 
at  the  request  of  the  trustees,  and  voted  an  annual  al 
lowance  of  sixty  pounds  sterling  in  support  of  the  "  col 
legiate  school."  The  first  meeting  under  the  charter 
was  held  at  Saybrook,  November  n,  1701,  when  the 
trustees  chose  one  of  their  own  number,  Rev.  Abraham 
Pierson  of  Killingworth,  as  first  rector,  and  decided 
that  he  should  open  the  "school"  at  Saybrook,  if  he 
could  be  done  without  too  much  inconvenience.  The 
first  student  was  Jacob  Hemingway — afterwards  for 
many  years  the  minister  at  East  Haven — who  studied 
alone  with  the  rector  from  March  till  September,  1702, 
at  which  latter  time  the  number  of  students  was  in- 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  3 

creased  to  eight.  One  of  these,  John  Hart,  who  had 
passed  three  years  at  Harvard,  graduated  alone  in  1703, 
but  "  the  first  student"  did  not  graduate  until  the  year 
following,  when  his  class  numbered  three  in  all.  The 
first  Commencement  was  held  in  September,  1702,  at 
Saybrook,  where  four  young  gentlemen  who  had  been 
graduated  at  Harvard,  and  one  who  had  been  privately 
educated,  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and 
one  (Nathanael  Chauncey)  received  the  degree  of  Bach 
elor.  At  this  time  a  tutor  was  added  to  the  corps  of 
instructors.  For  five  years,  or  until  the  death  of  the 
rector,  March  5,  1707,  the  students  resided  with  him  at 
Killingworth,  while  the  Commencements  were  held  at 
Saybrook,  privately,  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  trustees. 
Then,  Rev.  Samuel  Andrews  of  Milford  was  chosen 
temporary  rector,  and  for  about  nine  years  the  Seniors 
resided  with  him,  while  the  under-classes  remained,  un 
der  the  charge  of  two  tutors,  at  Saybrook,  where  the 
Commencements  still  continued  to  be  held.  Dissatis 
faction  having  arisen  among  them  at  this  state  of  things, 
the  trustees,  at  a  meeting  in  April,  1716,  voted  a  leave 
of  absence  until  the  next  Commencement,  for  such  as 
preferred  to  study  elsewhere.  A  majority  of  the  stu 
dents  accordingly  went  to  Wethersfield,  some  to  Hart 
ford,  some  to  East  Guilford,  and  a  few  remained  at 
Saybrook.  The  senior  class  still  continued  to  reside 
with  the  rector,  and  so,  for  the  rest  of  the  year,  the 
"  collegiate  school"  was  scattered  about  in  half  a  dozen 
different  towns  of  the  colony.  In  several  of  them, 
meanwhile,  subscriptions  began  to  be  raised  as  an  in 
ducement  to  secure  its  permanent  location.  The  larg-( 
est — £700  sterling — was  made  by  the  citizens  of  New 
Haven,  and  thither — at  a  meeting  held  there  October 
17,  1716,  adjourned  from  one  held  at  the  Saybrook 
Commencement,  a  month  before,  when  the  matter  had 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 


been  discussed  but  not  fully  decided— the  trustees  voted 
to  remove  it.  At  the  same  time  they  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  attend  to  the  building  of  a  large  and  commo 
dious  college  and  a  rector's  house  (there  being  in  the 
treasury  about  £1000  sterling,  derived  from  private 
subscriptions  and  legislative  gifts) ;  elected  two  tutors ; 
and  summoned  them,  the  rector,  and  the  scattered  stu 
dents,  to  New  Haven.  Thirteen  attended  during  the 
year,  while  fourteen  remained  at  Wethersfield,  and  four 
at  Saybrook  ; — the  latter,  who  comprised  the  entire  sen 
ior  class,  coming  up  to  New  Haven  to  get  their  degrees 
at  the  Commencement  of  1717. 

"The  college  house  was  raised  Octobers,  1717,  and 
within  a  year  after  was  so  far  finished  as  to  be  fit  for  the 
commodious  reception  of  the  students.  It  was  170  feet 
long,  22  feet  wide,  and  three  stories  high  ;  made  a  hand 
some  appearance,  and  contained  nearly  50  studies,  be 
sides  the  hall,  library,  and  kitchen ;  and  it  cost  about 
£1000  sterling."  It  stood  near  the  corner  of  the  pres 
ent  college  yard,  in  front  of  where  the  Athenaeum  and 
South  College  now  stand,  and  was  demolished  in  1782. 
The  same  year  in  which  the  "  school  "  was  removed  to 
New  Haven,  it  received  several  valuable  donations  in 
books,  goods  and  money,— the  chief  donor  being  Elihu 
Yale  of  London,  governor  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  first  public  Com 
mencement,— September  10,  1718,— the  trustees,  with 
requisite  formalities,  named  the  new  building  "Yale 
College,"  in  honor  of  the  man  by  whose  generosity  they 
had  been  enabled  to  complete  the  edifice.  The  patron 
of  the  institution  was  born  at  New  Haven,  April  5, 
1648,  where  his  father  had  come  with  the  earliest  set 
tlers,  ten  years  before,  and  he  died,  July  8,  1721.  He 
was  buried  in  the  church  yard  at  Wrexham,  the  capital 
of  Denbighshire,  in  North  Wales,— a  town  which  had 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  5 

long  been  the  residence  of  his  ancient  and  wealthy 
family.  Going  to  England  at  the  age  of  ten,  he  received 
his  education  there,  and  in  1678  went  to  the  East  In 
dies.  Here  he  remained  twenty  years  longer,  serving 
for  much  of  the  time  as  governor  of  Fort  St.  George  on 
the  coast  of  Coromandel,  accumulating  a  very  large 
property  of  his  own,  and  marrying  a  wealthy  lady — 
widow  of  his  predecessor  in  office — by  whom  he  had 
three  daughters.  He  was  elected  governor  of  the 
East  India  Company,  on  his  return  to  London ;  and 
there,  hearing  that  a  college  had  been  started  in  his 
colonial  birth-place  which  he  left  half  a  century  before, 
he  made  it  those  valuable  presents  which  first  brought 
it  on  a  respectable  foundation.  He  seems  to  have  been 
an  affable,  good  humored  man,  of  ready  generosity,  with 
no  possible  thought  of  the  future  glory  and  immortality 
accruing  to  his  name  in  consequence  of  his  careless 
gifts  to  the  little  collegiate  school  in  the  far-off  colony 
of  Connecticut. 

At  this  first  public  Commencement,  eight  men  were 
graduated,  and  besides  their  "disputations,"  in  one  of 
the  city  churches,  and  other  exercises,  the  governor  of 
the  colony  "  was  pleased  to  grace  and  crown  the  whole 
solemnity  with  an  elegant  Latin  oration,  wherein  he 
congratulated  the  present  happy  state  of  the  college  in 
being  fixed  at  New  Haven,  and  enriched  by  so  many 
noble  benefactions  ;  and  particularly  celebrated  the  great 
generosity  of  Governor  Yale,  with  much  respect  and 
honor."  "All  which  being  ended,  the  gentlemen  re 
turned  to  the  college  hall,  where  they  were  entertained 
with  a  splendid  dinner ;  and  the  ladies  at  the  same 
time  were  also  entertained  in  the  library.  After  which 
we  sung  the  first  four  verses  of  the  sixty-fifth  Psalm, 
and  so  the  day  ended.  Everything  was  managed  with 
so  much  order  and  splendor,  that  the  fame  of  it  ex- 


0  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tremely  disheartened  the  opposers,  and  made  opposition 
fall  before  it."  That  there  was  opposition  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that,  on  the  same  day,  another  Commencement 
was  held  at  Wethersfield,  where  five  men  were  gradu 
ated.  These,  however,  were  shortly  afterwards  presented 
with  regular  diplomas  by  the  authorities  at  New  Haven, 
and  were  entered  in  the  catalogue  with  the  rest  of  their 
class  ;  and  the  remaining  students  at  Wethersfield  were 
again  ordered  to  come  to  the  former  town.  In  the  fol 
lowing  October,  the  Colonial  Assembly  repeated  the  re 
quest,  as  the  last  of  its  measures  "  to  quiet  the  minds 
of  people  and  introduce  a  general  harmony  into  public 
affairs," — its  other  decrees  being  :  "  that  a  State  House 
should  be  built  at  Hartford  to  compensate  for  the  col 
lege  at  New  Haven  ;  that  £25  sterling  should  be  given 
to  Saybrook  for  the  use  of  the  school,  to  compensate 
for  the  removal  of  the  college  ;  and  that  the  governor 
and  council  should,  at  the  request  of  the  trustees,  give 
such  orders  as  they  should  think  proper  for  the  removal 
of  the  library  from  Saybrook  to  New  Haven."  This 
last  was  quite  a  necessary  precaution,  for  in  December, 
1718,  when  the  trustees  wished  to  remove  the  books,  a 
large  crowd  of  men  collected  in  and  about  the  house 
where  they  were  stored,  bent  upon  forcible  opposition  to 
the  plan.  No  attention  being  paid  to  the  sheriff's  war 
rant, —  issued  by  order  of  the  governor  and  council, 
who,  with  the  trustees,  were  present  in  person, — he  was 
obliged  to  break  open  the  door  and,  with  his  attendants, 
to  wrest  the  library  from  the  grasp  of  its  guardians. 
Bridges  were  torn  down  and  other  hindrances  made  to 
prevent  the  return  to  New  Haven,  and  while  on  the 
way  the  wagons  were  broken  into  by  night,  and  to  some 
extent  robbed  of  their  contents.  In  the  strife  and  tu 
mult,  about  1 60  volumes  and  many  valuable  papers 
were  lost,  but  the  rest,  —  more  than  1000  volumes, 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  7 

after  a  week's  journey,  reached  New  Haven  in  safety, 

and  were  stored  in  the  college  library.  "  After  this  un 
happy  struggle,  the  spirits  of  men  began  by  degrees  to 
subside,  and  a  general  harmony  was  gradually  intro 
duced  among  the  trustees  and  the  colony  in  general." 
The""  up-river"  ministers,  who  had  appealed  to  the  Leg 
islature  to  Interfere  in  their  behalf,  and  had  tried  in 
other  ways  besides  those  mentioned  to  prevent  the  es 
tablishment  of  the  school  at  New  Haven,  now  yielded 
to  the  inevitable,  became  reconciled  to  the  action  of 
the  majority,  and  were  henceforth  firm  friends  of  the 
college. 

The  second  rector,  Rev.  Timothy  Cutler,  was  chosen 
March  19,  1719, — a  dozen  years  after  the  death  of  his 
predecessor, — and  by  vote  of  the  trustees,  October  17, 
1722,  was  "excused  from  all  further  service,"  on  ac 
count  of  having  "  agreed  to  leave  the  communion  of 
the  Connecticut  churches  and  go  over  to  England  for 
Episcopal  ordination."  Two  other  clergymen  and  one 
of  the  college  tutors  joined  with  him  in  this  schism, 
which  created  the  greatest  alarm  and  excitement  through 
out  the  colony,  and  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  "  relig 
ious  test," — all  officers  of  the  college  being  thenceforth 
obliged  to  assent  to  the  "  Saybrook  Platform"  of  1708, 
before  entering  upon  their  duties.  Other  proofs  of  or 
thodoxy  were  afterwards  added  to  this,  but  in  1823  the 
whole  system  of  tests  was  formally  abrogated,  after  hav 
ing  been  in  effect  obsolete  for  several  years.  Rector 
Cutler's  dismissal  was  followed  by  an  interval  of  four 
years,  in  which  each  of  the  trustees  in  turn  lived  at  the 
college  for  a  month's  time  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of 
rector, — Mr.  Andrews,  for  twelve  years  temporary  rec 
tor,  officiating  at  all  the  Commencements,  save  that  of 
1723,  when  Mr.  Woodbridge,  one  of  the  reconciled 
"  up-river"  trustees,  was  allowed  to  preside.  The  other, 


FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

who  had  been  the  head  of  the  opposition  school  at 
Wethersfield,  Rev.  Elisha  Williams,  was  in  1726  in 
ducted  into  office  as  third  rector,  having  been  chosen  to 
the  post  a  year  before  that  With  his  accession,  the 
regular  life  of  the  college  may  be  considered  to  have 
begun,  —  the  confusion  and  disorder  and  uncertainty 
which  had  characterized  its  first  quarter  century's  exist 
ence  being  then  shaken  off.  On  account  of  ill-health, 
he  resigned  his  office  in  1739,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Clap 
of  Windham  became  his  successor, — serving  for  twenty- 
seven  years,  or  until  July,  1766.  In  the  century  since 
then,  there  have  been  five  presidents  :  Naphtali  Dag- 
gett  of  '48,  until  1777  ;  Ezra  Stiles  of  '46,  until  1795  ; 
Timothy  D wight  of  '69,  until  1817  ;  Jeremiah  Day  of 
'95,  until  1846  ;  and  Theodore  Dwight  Woolsey  of  '20, 
until  1871.  Their  four  predecessors  were  all  graduates 
of  Harvard,  as  were  also  three  tutors  and  nine  of  the 
ten  clergymen  who  founded  the  "collegiate  school"  in 
1700.  Eighty  years  later,  when  the  last  Harvard  man 
withdrew  from  the  board  of  trustees,  there  had  been 
fifty-six  individuals  connected  with  it,  of  whom  one-half 
were  Harvard  graduates. 

At  the  time  when  the  college  was  founded,  there  were 
not  above  15,000  inhabitants  in  the  entire  colony,  and 
the  annuity  granted  with  the  original  charter  was,  un 
der  the  circumstances,  a  more  liberal  gift  than  the  Leg- 
islatijre  has  ever  since  bestowed  upon  the  institution. 
The  charter  underwent  minor  amendments  and  ampli 
fications  in  1723,  but  in  1745  a  new  and  more  elaborate 
draft  of  the  document  was  made,  in  eleven  sections,  set 
ting  forth  with  great  exactness  the  powers  and  duties  of 
the  college  officers.  The  names  "  rector,"  and  "  trus 
tees,"  "  founders,"  "  undertakers"  or  "  governors,"  then 
gave  place  to  the  style,  "president  and  fellows  of  Yale 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  9 

College,"  which  title  for  the  governing  body  has  ever 
since  been  retained.     The  name  "  Yale  College,"  origi 
nally  applied  simply  to  the   college  building,  was  then 
also  first  formally  bestowed  upon  the  entire  institution, 
which  up  to  that  time   had  been   known,  officially,  only 
as  the  "  collegiate  school."     The  annual  grant  was  reg 
ularly  paid  until  1755,  when,  on  account  of  high  taxa 
tion,  change  in  the  currency,  etc.,  it  began  to  be  with 
held ;    and,  ten  years  later,  a   dispute    arising   in    the 
Legislature  as  to  whether  the   college  had   any  claim 
upon  it  for  the  annuity  or  arrearages  on  the  same,  "the 
president  and  fellows"  settled  the  controversy  by  a  writ 
ten    abandonment  of  all   such    claims.     In   return  for 
this,  the  Assembly  shortly  afterwards  voted  them  £245 
sterling,  towards  the  building  of  a  chapel.     Besides  this 
and   the   annuity,  it  had,   during  the  first  half  of  the 
century,  by  various  grants  of  land   and   money,  given 
the  college  upwards  of  £2000  sterling.     In   1763  cer 
tain  persons  presented   a  memorial  to   the  Assembly, 
calling  upon  it  to  enquire  into  the  affairs  of  the  college, 
rectify  possible  abuses,  etc.,  by  means  of  a-  "  commission 
of  visitation,"  which  it  could  legally  do,  under  the  com 
mon  law,  on   account  of  having  "founded"  the  college, 
by   its  grants    and  patronage.     But  the   arguments  of 
President   Clap,  in  behalf  of  the  independence   of  the 
college  and  its  chartered  rights,  proved  so  conclusively 
the  powerlessness  of  the   Assembly  to  interfere   there 
with,  that  the  idea  of  anyone   save  the  ten  associated 
clergymen  having  "founded "the  college  was  speedily 
abandoned,  and  the  memorialists  were  dismissed  with 
out  having  any  action  taken  concerning  their  petition. 
This  decision  greatly  reassured  the  friends  of  the  col 
lege  ;  and  the  point  in  dispute  has   never  since  been 
raised.     But  the  college  and  its  president,  for  this  and 
other  reasons,  grew  excessively  unpopular  ;  the  students 
2* 


10  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

were  encouraged  to  resist  authority  ;  and  in  the  summer 
of  1766,  when  all  show  of  subordination  was  at  an  end, 
the  tutors  as  well  as  the  president  resigned,  and  the 
undergraduates  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

The  feeling  that  the  Assembly  ought  in  some  way  to 
share  in  the  management  of  the  college  was  still  cher 
ished,  and  all  sorts  of  reports  derogatory  of  the  corpo 
ration — its  want  of  progressiveness,  its  sectarian  char 
acter,  the  abuses  of  its  government,  and  so  on — were 
freely  circulated.  At  length,  in  1778,  shortly  after  the 
accession  of  President  Stiles,  the  corporation,  which 
had  all  along  looked  with  favor  upon  some  official  con 
nection  of  the  State  with  the  college,  met  a  committee 
from  the  Assembly  to  discuss  the  matter.  From  the 
plans  proposed  then  and  afterwards  nothing  resulted, 
until  1792,  when  another  committee,  appointed  the  year 
before  by  the  Assembly,  made  a  report  on  the  existing 
state  of  the  college,  and  of  the  special  facilities  ac 
corded  them  for  making  the  most  minute  and  thor 
ough  investigations  of  its  affairs,  which  greatly  pleased 
that  body.  Accordingly,  the  balance  of  the  uncol- 
lected  "war  taxes"  due  the  State  (its  war  debt  having 
been  assumed  by  the  United  States)  was  appropriated 
to  the  support  of  the  college,  with  certain  reservations 
as  to  time  and  mode  of  payment ;  and  from  this  grant 
upwards  of  $40,000  was  ultimately  derived.  As  a  con 
dition  of  the  gift,  the  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and 
six  senior  assistants  in  the  council  were  to  become,  by 
virtue  of  their  offices,  "  fellows"  or  members  of  the  cor 
poration  of  Yale,  with  full  powers  except  as  to  the  fill 
ing  up  of  vacancies  in  the  clerical  portion  of  that  body. 
Jarnes  Hillhouse,  treasurer  of  the  college,  was  the  per 
son  chiefly  instrumental  in  the  passage  of  this  act,  whose 
conditions  were  readily  accepted  by  the  existing  corpo 
ration,  and  which  —  with  the  unimportant  change  of 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  II 

"  six  senior  assistants  in  the  council"  to  "  six  senior  sen 
ators,"  which  change  was  rendered  necessary  by  the 
new  constitution  of  the  State — has  remained  in  force 
until  the  present  time.  This  reunion  originally  created 
a  very  general  satisfaction  among  all  parties,  and  re 
moved  all  feelings  of  distrust  and  jealousy  from  the 
minds  of  civilians  ;  but  for  a  long  time  past  it  has  had 
little  practical  effect  upon  the  management  of  the  insti 
tution.  Except  the  governor  and  lieutenant  governor, 
the  civilians  who,  by  virtue  of  being  State  officers,  are 
"members  of  the  corporation,"  seldom  take  any  inter 
est  in  its  affairs  or  attend  its  meetings,  and  the  real 
managers  are  the  eleven  other  "  fellows,"  —  the  presi 
dent  of  the  college,  who  is  one  by  virtue  of  his  office, 
and  the  ten  Congregational  clergymen  of  Connecti 
cut,  who  elect  their  own  successors.  These  are  thirty 
years  old  or  upwards,  and  are  usually  chosen  from  dif 
ferent  towns  of  the  State,  and  are  for  the  most  part 
graduates  of  the  college.  They  are  not  of  necessity 
Congregational  clergymen,  nor  even  residents  of  Con 
necticut  ;  nor  yet  is  there  any  rule  requiring  the  presi 
dent  of  the  college  to  be  a  clergyman.  But  since,  from 
the  foundation  of  the  institution,  all  the  presidents  and 
trustees  have  been  Congregational  clergymen  belonging 
in  the  State,  it  is  a  generally  received  opinion  that  they 
are  forced  to  be  such  by  the  organic  law.  The  regular 
annual  meeting  of  the  corporation  is  held  at  Commence 
ment  time  ;  and  for  the  rest  of  the  year,  except  in  cases 
of  special  importance,  it  is  supposed  to  act  through  its 
executive  committee. 

The  question,  so  much  discussed  of  late,  in  regard  to 
the  alumni  having  a  direct  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the 
college,  originated  in  the  proposition  of  President 
Woolsey  —  in  the  New  Englander  for  October,  1866  — 
that  the  places  of  the  six  ex-officio  State  senators  should 


12 


FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 


be  filled  by  as  many  alumni,  chosen  by  general  vote  at 
the  annual  meeting.     At  the  Commencement  meeting 
of  1869  a  committee  was  appointed  to  enquire  into  the 
feasibility  of  the  plan  ;  and  this  committee,  a  year  later, 
•  reported  that  it  would  be  feasible  in  case  the  Legisla 
ture  and  the  corporation  should  both  give  consent ;  and 
it  recommended  the  order  of  making  elections,  in  case 
the  change  were  adopted.     As   to  whether  or  not  the 
same  should  be  adopted,  it  was   about  equally  divided 
in  opinion,  and  so  made  no  report.     The   matter  was 
discussed  at  length,  and   it  was  voted  not  to  attempt 
making  the  change.     Some  resolutions  which  were  of 
fered,  looking  to  the  formation  of  a  sort  of  an  Alumni 
Council,  to  serve  as  a  medium  between   the  graduates 
and  the  corporation,  but  to  be  entirely  distinct  from  and 
independent  of  the  latter,  were   also  voted  down.     At 
the  Commencement  dinner,  two  or  three  speakers— in 
behalf  of  "Young  Yale,"  or  the  graduates  of  the   past 
fifteen  years —denounced  this  display  of  old-fogyism  ; 
and  ever  since  then   the   contest  has  been  going  on  in 
the  public  prints.     Some  writers  insist  that  the  clergy 
men  as  well  as  State  senators  should  resign,  and  allow 
the  alumni  to  elect  the  entire  board  ;  some  ask  only  for 
the   resignation   of  the  senators  ;  and   some   favor  the 
idea  of  an  advisory  council.     But  everyone  clamors  for 
alumni   representation  in   the  management  of  the  col 
lege,  and  the  institution  will  be  likely  to  suffer  serious 
injury  if  in  some  form  or  another  this  representation  is 
not  granted. 

The  general  policy  of  the  college,  however,  is  shaped 
more  by  the  faculty  than  by  the  corporation,-^the  latter 
apparently  doing  little  more  than  to  confirm  the  recom 
mendations  of  the  former.  The  faculty  consisted  sim 
ply  of  the  president  and  two  or  three  tutors,  until  the 
year  1755,  when  the  first  professorship— that  of  Sacred 


HISTORICAL   AND   EXPLANATORY.  13 

Theology  —  was  founded.  The  next  —  that  of  Mathe 
matics  and  Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy  —  was 
founded  in  1770,  and  divided  in  1836.  Then  came  the 
professorships  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  1777  ;  of  Law, 
1 80 1 ;  of  Chemistry,  Mineralogy  and  Geology,  1804,  aft 
erwards  divided  into  a  half  dozen  branches ;  of  Hebrew, 
Greek  and  Latin,  1805,  divided  in  1831;  of  Rhetoric  and 
English  Literature,  in  1813  ;  of  Ethics  and  Metaphysics, 
in  1846;  of  Modern  Languages,  in  1863  ;  and,  finally, 
of  History,  in  1865.  These  are  exclusive  of  the  twenty 
or  more  chairs  set  up  in  the  various  professional 
schools,  since  the  opening  of  the  century.  The  list  of 
"faculty  and  instructors"  of  the  entire  university  now 
numbers  upwards  of  sixty  names,  but  the  faculty  of  the 
college,  or  academical  department,  which  is  the  only 
one  here  treated  of,  consists  of  the  president,  twelve 
professors,  and  half  that  number  of  tutors.  This  body 
convenes  in  "  faculty  meeting,"  at  the  room  of  the  pres 
ident,  every  Wednesday  afternoon,  when  notes  are  com 
pared,  the  results  of  the  week  discussed,  penalties  in 
flicted  or  remitted,  and  the  general  interests  of  the 
college  talked  over,  as  well  as  these  special  details  of 
instruction  and  government.  At  these  "  executive  ses 
sions"  of  the  active  rulers  of  college,  are  originated  and 
perfected  most  of  the  measures  which  ultimately  affect 
its  welfare,  as  "enactments  of  the  corporation."  On 
the  grave  and  reverend  shoulders  of  this  latter  body, 
also,  is  sometimes  thrown  the  odium  of  hostility  to  re 
forms  which  the  faculty  are  not  really  in  favor  of,  but 
which  they  simply  profess  their  inability  to  make  "with 
out  the  consent  of  the  corporation"-— a  consent  they 
take  no  pains  to  secure.  For  example,  when  asked  to 
do  away  with  the  absurd  rule  forbidding  a  student  to 
take  his  meals  at  a  public  house,  without  pretending  to 
seriously  defend  the  rule,  they  say  that  the  corporation 


14  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

alone  have  power  to  repeal  it.     But  they  do   not  urge 
its  repeal  when  that  high  and  mighty  body  is  convened. 

The  central  portion  of  the  city  of  New  Haven  is  laid 
out  in  the  form  of  an  exact  half-mile  square,  bounded 
by  Grove  and  George  streets,  running  east  and  west, 
and  State  and  York  streets,  running  north  and  south. 
This  central  tract  is  divided  by  other  streets  into  nine 
main  squares,  and  all  but  two  of  these  squares  are  in 
turn  divided  into  four  smaller  ones.  The  two  excep 
tions  are  the  central  square — which  forms  the  city  green, 
and  is  bounded  by  Elm  and  Chapel  streets,  running 
east  and  west,  and  Church  and  College  streets,  running 
north  and  south — and  the  one  to  the  west  of  it.  The 
half  of  the  latter  forms  the  college  yard,  measuring  850 
feet  on  College  street,  which  it  faces,  and  on  High,  par 
allel  to  it,  and  450  feet  on  Chapel  street  and  Elm,  its 
parallel.  The  ground  was  bought  up  gradually,  and  it 
is  not  yet  twenty-five  years  since  the  last  of  it  came  into 
full  possession  of  the  college.  Some  of  the  land  and 
buildings  upon  the  other  half  of  this  square  —  which 
half  is  divided  into  two  equal  parts  by  Library  street — 
is  also  owned  by  the  institution,  though  the  Gymnasium 
is  the  only  college  building  situated  there  ;  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  the  corporation  will  ever  grow  rich  enough 
to  buy  up  the  whole  tract,  and  so  give  a  little  more 
breathing-room  to  the  college. 

The  "brick  row"  —  fronting  on  College  street  and 
until  recently  composed  of  eight  buildings — was  begun 
by  the  erection  of  South  Middle,  whose  foundation  was 
laid  April  17,  1750.  Its  outside  was  finished  two  years 
later,  but  the  building  was  not  occupied  until  1756,  and 
in  1797  a  regular  fourth  story  took  the  place  of  its 
French  roof.  Some  230,000  bricks  were  used  in 
its  construction,  and  the  cost  of  the  outside  was 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  15 

£1180   sterling.      An    amount    about    equal   to    this  — 
gained  by  the  sale  of  a   State  "  war  frigate"   and   the 
French  ship  it  had  captured— was  contributed  in  three 
separate  grants  by  the  General   Assembly,  which  also 
authorized  the  holding  of  a  lottery  by  the  college  author 
ities,  from  which  upwards  of  £400  sterling  was  derived. 
In  consideration  of  this    liberal   support,  the  building 
was  named  "  Connecticut  Hall,"  but  the  title  has  long 
been  obsolete.     "  But  as  it  became  exceedingly  incon 
venient,  with  170  students,  to  carry  on  all  religious  and 
scholastic   exercises   in   the    old  College   Hall,  and   to 
make  use  of  it  for  a  dining  room,  and  as  the  library  was 
also  too  small  for  the  books   and  apparatus,  President 
Clap  proposed  a  scheme  to  build  a  new  hall  or  chapel 
with  a  library  over  it,  and  set  forward  a  subscription  for 
that  purpose.     The  foundation  was  laid  in  April,  1761, 
and  the  outside  was  nearly  finished  that  summer.     It  is 
50  feet  long  and  40  feet  wide,  with  a  steeple   and  gal 
leries,  in  which  are  three   rostra  for  orations,  disputa 
tions,  etc.,  and  a  library  over  the  whole.     It  is  set  near 
the   south  end   of  Connecticut   Hall,  with  a  view  that 
when  another  college   is  built,  it  will  be   set    near   the 
south  side  of  this  chapel.     It  was  opened  in  June,  1763, 
with  a  sermon  preached  by  the  professor,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  president  and  fellows  and  a  large  number 
of  other  gentlemen."     Up  to  1765,  when  the  inside  was 
still  unfinished,  it  had  cost  £700  sterling,  one-third  of 
which  came  from  the  colony  treasury.     In   1804,  the  li 
brary  was  removed  to  the  "  rhetorical  chamber"  of  the 
Lyceum,  and  twenty  years  later  the  religious  exercises 
began  to  be  held  in  the  present  Chapel. 

Its  present  name,  Athenaeum,  was  then  given  to  the 
old  building,  which  was  deprived  of  its  bell  and  steeple 
and  underwent  various  changes  within.  Three  floors 
were  made  of  it,  the  third  or  upper  one  of  which  was 


16  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

divided  into  two  recitation,  and  two  college    officers', 
rooms  ;  the  second  was  divided  into   two  more   recita 
tion  rooms  (with  small  chambers  connected  with  them, 
in  which  slept  the  students  who  used  the  public  rooms 
as   their  studies)   and  two   dormitories  ;    and   the    first 
was  divided  into  dormitories  only.     Most  of  these  were 
occupied    by   indigent    Freshmen,    and    the    recitation 
rooms  were  devoted  to  the  freshman   class   alone.     In 
the   summer  of   1870    the   inside  of  the  building  was 
again  torn  out,  and. its  entire  space  equally  divided  into 
four  freshman  recitation  rooms,  two  on   each  floor,  six 
long  windows  being  allotted  to  each  room.    The  rear  en 
trance,  closed  in   1824,  was  reopened,  and  an  unbroken 
partition   was  placed  between  the   two   rooms  entered 
from  that  direction  and  the  two  entered  from  the  front. 
In  the   old  times,  the  society  libraries,  as  well   as  the 
philosophical  apparatus  of  the  college,  were  stored  in 
the  building,  and  the  tower  was  largely  used  as  an  ob 
servatory.     More  recently  it  had  been  rather  neglected, 
owing  to  the  better  facilities  afforded  by  the  revolving 
tower  of  iron  and  the  telescope  at  the  Sheffield  Hall, 
and  to  the  fact  that  the  growth  "of  trees  had  narrowed 
the  field  of  view.     In  November  of  last  year  the  latter 
defect  was  remedied    by   the    erection   of   a  revolving 
tower  of  wood,  upon  the   top   of   the  previous  tower. 
From  this  elevated   observatory  an  extensive  view  of 
New  Haven  can  be  secured,  and  the  field  of  view  for 
astronomical  work  is  entirely  unobstructed.     With  all 
these  changes  and  improvements  the  Athenaeum  natur 
ally  presents  the  most  patched-up  and  unsightly  outward 
appearance  of  any  building  on  the  college  grounds. 

South  College  was  the  third  one  of  the  row,  and  its 
corner  stone,  laid  with  appropriate  speeches  and  cere 
monies,  and  supposed  to  rest  beneath  the  north-eastern 
angle  of  the  building,  is  said  to  bear  this  inscription  : 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  17 

"  Ezra    Stiles,    Coll.    Yal.    Praeses.    Primvm     Lapidem 
posvit,  Acad.  Cond.  93,  Apr.   15,   1793."     It  was  com 
pleted    July    17,    following,    and    was    named    "Union 
Hall"  in  commemoration   of  the   union  of   State   and 
church  in  the  college  corporation.     Rutherford  Trow- 
bridge  was  the  builder.     When  the  erection  of  South 
was  commenced,   "  a  close  fence  of  panneled  boards, 
painted  red  and  relieved  by  cross  stripes  of  white,  sur 
rounded  the  college  yard,  which  extended  no  further 
than  to  the  north  end  of  South  Middle.     Beyond  was  a 
grotesque  group,  generally  of  the  most  undesirable  es 
tablishments,   among    which    were    a   barn,  a   barber's 
shop,  several  coarse  taverns  or  boarding  houses,  a  poor- 
house  and  house  of  correction,  and  the  public  jail  with 
its  prison  yard  ;  the  jail  being  used  alike  for  criminals, 
for  maniacs  and  debtors.     Being  very  near  the  college, 
the  moans  of  innocent  prisoners,  the  cries  of   felons, 
and  the  shrill  screams  and  wild  laughter  of  the  insane, 
were  sometimes  mingled  with  the  sacred  songs  of  praise 
and  with  the  voice  of  prayer,  rising  from  the  academic 
edifices."      But,  in   1800,  the  corporation  had  by  pur 
chase  secured  the  removal  of  many  of  these  objection 
able  neighbors,  and  so  decided  upon  the  erection  of  two 
new  buildings,  both   of  which  were  finished  in   1803. 
The  first  of  them,  North  Middle,  was  named  "  Berkeley 
Hall,"  in  honor  of  Bishop  Berkeley,  and  the  other,  "  the 
Connecticut  Lyceum," — which  title,  abbreviated  to  Ly 
ceum,    it   still    retains.       It   somewhat    resembles    the 
Athenaeum,   though  built  in  better  proportion,  having 
a  front  of  46  and  a  depth  of  56  feet,  and  the  gables 
of  its  roof  being  at  right  angles  to  each  other.     It  is 
three  stories  high,  and  is  supplied  with  a  tower  in  which 
are  the  college  bell  and  clock.     The  room  of  the  bell 
ringer,  upon  the  second  floor,  is  the  only  one  used  as  a 
dormitory,  though  upon   the  third  floor   are  two  office 


18  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

rooms  for  the  faculty,  in  connection  with  the  two  recita 
tion  rooms  into  which  the  long  room  stretching  across 
the  building,  and  serving  first  for  a  library  and  then  for 
a  "  rhetorical  chamber,"  was  divided  in   1851.     At  that 
time  the  whole  interior  of  the  building  was  rearranged, 
and  gas  and  furnace  heat  were  first  introduced  into  both 
it  and  the  Chapel.     The  senior  recitation  room  on  the 
second  floor  became  the  sophomore  mathematical  cham 
ber,  and  the  two  junior  rooms  on   the  same  floor  were 
enlarged.     On  the  ground  floor,  the  president's  lecture 
room    was  formed  by  joining  two  smaller  rooms    and 
shutting  up  the  rear  entrance  to  the  building,  while  the 
two  remaining  sophomore  rooms  were  enlarged.     North 
College  was  finished  in  the  fall  of  1821,  or  within  ayear 
from  the  time  the  corporation  voted  to  build  it,  and  was 
never  endowed  with  any  fancy  name.     A  similar  length 
of  time  was  employed  in  constructing  the  Chapel,  which 
was  dedicated  November  17,  1824.     It  has  a  front  of 
56  and  a  depth  of  72  feet,  and,  including  the  galleries, 
is   three  stories  in    hight,  the   upper  story,   above   the 
main  audience  room,  containing  a  dozen   dormitories. 
Above  these  is  the  attic,  whither  the  library  was  trans 
ferred  from  the  Lyceum.     The  steeple  of  the  building 
is  about  120  feet  in  hight.     Divinity  College,  the  last 
on  the  row,  was  built  in  1835,  and  had  to  be  torn  down 
during  the  summer  of  1870,  to  make  way  for  the  new 
stone  dormitory. 

The  four  dormitory  buildings  or  colleges  —  South, 
South  Middle,  North  Middle  and  North— are  all  of  the 
same  general  appearance  and  description,  as  was  the 
fifth— Divinity— before  its  demolition.  Each  is  tfbout 
100  feet  long  by  40  feet  wide>  and  four  stories  high. 
Each  has  54  windows  and  two  doors  on  each  side,  and 
eight  windows  at  each  end,  —  except  South  Middle, 
whose  1 6  "corner  rooms"  have  each  one  window  less 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  19 

than  those  of  the  other  colleges.  Each  has  two  halls 
or  "entries"  running  through  it,  and  each  entry  gives 
access  to  16  rooms,  four  on  a  floor, — there  being  32 
rooms  or  "  chambers"  in  each  college.  "  A  chamber" 
usually  comprises  —  in  addition-  to  the  main  sitting 
room,  into  which  the  entrance  door  from  the  hall  di 
rectly  opens — two  bed  rooms,  a  coal  closet,  a  clothes 
press  or  wardrobe,  a  wash  room,  etc.  ;  in  all,  five  or  six 
apartments.  The  number,  size  and  arrangement  of 
these  varies  somewhat  in  the  different  colleges.  Each 
college  is  equally  divided  into  "  corner"  and  "  middle" 
rooms,  and  of  course  into  "  front"  and  "  back"  rooms, 
and  any  particular  chamber  in  a  college  is  indicated  by 
reference  to  these  two  facts,  in  connection  with  the  po 
sition  of  the  entry,  and  the  number  of  the  floor.  A 
single  series  of  numbers  is  employed  to  designate  all 
the  college  rooms.  It  extends  from  south  to  north,  and 
from  the  front  lower  to  the  back  upper  room  of  each 
entry.  There  are  of  course  128  rooms  in  the  four  col 
leges,  and  these  are  numbered  continuously,  without 
reference  to  the  three  intermediate  buildings.  Hence 
"No.  i"  is  "South,  south  entry,  first  floor,  front,  corner 
room  ;"  while  "  No.  128"  is  North,  north  entry,  fourth 
floor,  back,  corner  room."  The  rooms  corresponding 
to  i  S.  are  33  S.  M.,  65  N.  M.  and  97  N.  ;  and  those  to 

128  N.  are  96  N.  M.,  64  S.  M.,  32  S. ;  and  so  on  for  the 
others.      The  32  rooms  in  old  Divinity  were  numbered 
on  continuously  to  160 ;  the  old   Athenaeum   rooms  ex 
tended  from  161  to  173;  the  Lyceum   rooms   from    174 
to  185  ;  and  the  Chapel  rooms  from   186  to   195  —  the 
highest  number  reached.     After  the   destruction  of  Di 
vinity   and    the    erection  of  the  new  Farnam  College, 
however,  the  49  rooms  in  the  latter  were  numbered  from 

129  to  177  ;  the  Lyceum  rooms  from    178  to    185  ;  and 
the  Chapel  rooms  remain  as  before.     The  four  recitation 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

rooms  in  the  remodeled  Athenaeum  are  now  lettered  in 
stead  of  numbered.  Each  of  the  colleges  has  an  attic  and 
—except  North— a  cellar,  which  are  used  for  purposes 
of  storage.  Each  entry  of  the  three  colleges  possessed 
of  cellars  is  supplied  with  water  closets,  which  improve 
ments  were  added  in  the  fall  of  1870.  North  is  the  only 
college  having  a  slate  roof,  the  others  being  shingled. 

Of    the    half  dozen    buildings    in    the  rear   of    the 
brick  row,  the  oldest  is  the  Laboratory,  built  in    1782, 
for  a  dining  hall  and  kitchen,  and  standing  behind  the 
Athenaeum.     It  is  of  brick,  painted  yellowish  white,  one 
story  and  a  half  high,  90  feet  long  and   30   feet  wide, 
with  an  irregular  addition  upon  the  west  side.     It  orig 
inally   measured   60  by  30   feet,— the   size  of  the  pres 
ent   lecture   room.      In    this    the   seats  are  very  close 
together  and  rise  rapidly,  so  that  a  class  of  a  hundred 
persons  can  sit  in  full  view  of  the  lecturer.     The  room 
is  arched,  and   its  greatest  elevation  is  eighteen   feet. 
There  are  two  or  three  other  rooms  and  offices,  and  a 
cellar  extends  underneath  the  whole.     Since  the  fall  of 
1870  one  of  the  college  janitors,  with  his  family,  has  oc 
cupied  a  portion   of  the   premises.     The   building  has 
been  put  to  its  present  use  since   1819,  when  the  Cabi 
net  was  erected,  and  the  kitchen  and  dining  hall  trans 
ferred    thither.     This    edifice,    covered    with   yellowish 
stucco,  is  86  feet  long  and  45  feet  broad,  and  stands  be 
hind  South  Middle  and  the  Lyceum.     Besides  the  base 
ment,  where   the  cooking  was  formerly  done,  and  the 
attic,  it  comprises  two  full  stories ;  the  upper  one  being 
devoted  to  the  mineralogical  calSinet,  as  at  first,  and  the 
lower  one— which  served   as  the  dining  hall,  until   the 
abolition  of  Commons  in  1843— containing  two  sopho 
more  recitation  rooms,  and  the  "  philosophical  chamber," 
which  is  the  largest    lecture    room    upon    the    college 
grounds.     Directly  behind  the  Chapel   is  another  stuc- 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  21 

coed  building,  bluish  brown  in  color,  now  called  the 
Treasury,  but  originally  Trumbull  Gallery.  Its  meas 
urements  are  65  by  35  feet,  and  it  is  two  stories  in 
hight.  It  was  built  in  1832,  to  receive  the  historical 
paintings  of  Colonel  Trumbull,  which  that  artist  had 
presented  to  the  college  the  year  before,  on  the  condi 
tion  that  the  proceeds  of  their  exhibition  should  go  for 
the  benefit  of  indigent  students  ;  though  admission  to 
the  gallery  was  ultimately  made  free  to  all.  The  upper 
story  of  the  building  was  divided  into  two  large  apart 
ments,  lighted  from  above,  in  one  of  which  were  the 
Trumbull  paintings,  in  the  other,  portraits  of  various 
college  benefactors,  and  miscellaneous  pictures.  Below 
were  offices  for  the  treasurer  and  steward,  a  recitation 
room  for  the  Theologues,  etc.  The  steward's  office  is 
now  used  as  a  dormitory  by  an  indigent  student  who 
has  charge  of  the  key-box.  In  1868,  all  the  paintings 
having  been  removed  to  the  Art  Building,  the  vacated 
apartments  were  changed  into  three  offices,  for  the  col 
lege  treasurer,  pastor  and  president,  in  the  latter  of 
which  all  the  faculty  meetings  are  now  held.  The 
rooms  below  are  packed  with  "  specimens"  which  can 
not  be  displayed  in  the  over-crowded  Cabinet.  At  the 
time  of  the  change,  windows  were  let  in  to  the  sides  of 
the  second  story,  thereby  removing  from  the  building  its 
former  tomb-like  appearance.  Perhaps  it  was  pur 
posely  built  to  resemble  a  mausoleum,  for,  at  his  own 
request,  the  remains  of  Colonel  Trumbull  and  his  wife 
were  buried  and  now  rest  beneath  it. 

The  first  one  of  the  college  structures  making  any 
pretensions  to  architectural  beauty  was  the  Library,  be 
gun  in  1842.  The  absolute  necessity  of  providing  some 
safe  place  for  the  books,  which,  after  the  transfers  al 
ready  noted,  were  then  lying  in  the  attic  of  the  Chapel, 
as  well  as  for  the  society  libraries  in  the  Athenaeum,  in- 


22  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

duced  a  few  friends  of  the  college  to  start  a  subscrip 
tion  for  the  erection  of  a  fire-proof  building.  After 
$13,000  had  been  raised,  it  was  thought  impolitic  to 
press  the  subscription  further,  on  account  of  "hard 
times"  ;  but,  with  the  consent  of  the  subscribers,  the 
corporation  voted  to  begin  the  work  at  once,  upon  a  lib 
eral  scale,  and  trust  to  the  future  to  finish  it.  Accord 
ingly  they  were  enabled,  within  a  year's  time,  by  ex 
pending  all  their  money,  to  put  up  the  walls  and  roof, 
and  fit  up  a  single  apartment  for  the  temporary  recep 
tion  of  the  books.  The  inside  was  finally  completed 
and  arranged  in  1846-47,  but  the  ornamental  turrets 
without  have  remained  unfinished  to  the  present  time. 
Situated  exactly  in  the  center  of  the  High  street  side  of 
the  college  yard,  "  the  whole  pile  extends  its  front,  in 
cluding  the  buttresses  above  the  base,  151  feet.  The 
front  of  the  main  building,  measured  in  the  same  way, 
is  5 1  feet  :  and  its  depth  from  front  to  rear  is  95  feet. 
The  front  of  each  of  the  extreme  wings  is  30  feet  and  the 
depth  67  feet.  The  connecting  wings  are  each  26  by  40 
feet  between  the  walls  ;  and  the  extreme  hight  of  the  four 
chief  towers  is  91  feet.  The  main  building,  designed  to 
contain  the  college  library,  includes  only  one  room,  the 
interior  measurement  of  which  is  41  by  83  feet.  It  re 
sembles  in  form  a  Gothic  chapel,  with  its  nave  and  aisles  ; 
the  hight  of  the  nave  is  59  feet,  its  breadth  17  feet. 
Between  the  clustered  pillars  of  the  nave  are  alcoves, 
fourteen  in  number,  and  each  ten  by  twelve  feet  in  ex 
tent.  A  gallery  extends  on  all  sides  of  the  room  and 
contains  the  same  number  of  alcoves.  The  ceiling  is 
finished  with  groined  arches."  Each  of  the  extreme 
wings  is  a  copy  of  this  central  room,  and  is  supplied 
with  smaller  alcoves  and  gallery.  The  northern  one  is 
occupied  by  "Brothers,"  the  southern  by  "Linonia." 
The  usual  entrance  to  the  main  building  is  through  the 


HISTORICAL   AND   EXPLANATORY. 

northern  connecting  wing,  which  serves  as  a  librarian's 
office,  and  general  consulting  room.     The  southern  con 
necting  wing  was  originally  occupied  by  "  Calliope,"  but 
is  now  used  for  the   storing   of  pamphlets,  duplicates, 
and  works  which  are  seldom  referred  to.     In    1860,  the 
wings  were  connected  by  an  inner  passage-way,  but  as 
the  iron  doors  are  always  locked,  the   different  apart 
ments  of  the  building  are  in  effect  as  isolated  as  ever. 
Its   walls   are  of  red  sandstone,   from  the   quarries  at 
Portland,  on  the  Connecticut  ;  and  its   entire   cost  was 
about  $30,000.    Exclusive  of  the  35,000  books  in  the  so 
ciety  and   department   libraries,   the   college  now  pos 
sesses    about    60,000    volumes  and   20,000   pamphlets. 
Beginning  with  the  40  folios  which  founded  the  college 
in  1700,  the  library  had  increased  to  26,000  volumes  in 
1743,  when   the  first  catalogue  was  published,  and   to 
12,500,  a  century  later.     A  good  many  books  were  lost, 
at  times  when  the  college  was  temporarily  disbanded,  so 
that  by  the  catalogue  of  1791  there  were  only  2700,  al 
though  there  had  been  4000  in  1766. 

In  line  with  the  Library,  in  the  north  west  angle  of 
the  college  yard,  corner  of  Elm  and  High  streets,  stands 
Alumni  Hall ;  like  it,  built  of  red  sandstone,  and,  like 
it  and  the  Treasury,  roofed  with  tin.  The  need  of  some 
larger  hall  than  any  then  existing,  becoming  imperative 
with  the  introduction  of  "  biennials,"  President  Woolsey 
drew  up  a  plan  of  a  two-storied  building,  having  a  large 
hall  below  for  general  college  purposes  and  two  smaller 
ones  above,  for  the  societies  of  "  Linonia"  and  "  Broth 
ers,"  which  promised  to  bear  a  share  of  the  expense. 
The  plan  was  modified,  so  as  to  allow  a  third  upper 
hall,  for  "Calliope,"  and  the  building  was  completed 
in  1853,  —  by  which  time  the  third  society  was  dead, 
and  the  money  it  had  advanced  was  refunded  to  jts  ex 
ecutors.  The  structure  measures  100  by  52  feet,  and 


24  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

two   towers,  75    feet   high,  stand   beside   its   principal 
entrance.      Within  these,  winding  staircases  lead  to  the 
society  halls,  which  are   also  accessible  in  the  rear  by 
a  third  stairway,  situated  within  the  central  projection, 
40  feet  wide, -which  juts  out  12  feet  on  the  High  street 
side  of  the  building,  and  corresponds  to  the  towers  on 
the   front   side.     This  projection  also  gives  a  place   for 
a  small  gallery  overlooking  the  main  hall.     The  latter 
is  said  to  be  the  largest  one  in  the  country,  having  oc 
cupied-rooms  above  unsupported  by  anything  save  the 
outer  walls.     Perhaps  it  was  well   that  the  experiment 
was  never  put  to  the  crucial  test  by  the  constant  use 
of  the  central  (Calliope)  hall  above ;  for  at  the  time  of 
holding  the  "  sanitary  fair"  in  February,  1864,  when  the 
upper  rooms  were  all   crowded,  a  portion  of  the   floor 
perceptibly  "  settled,"  and  care  had  to  be  taken  to  dis 
tribute    the    spectators    more    equally    throughout   the 
building.     The  roof  is  not  visible  from  below,  and  the 
cornices,  in  the  form  of  battlements,  which  surround  it 
and   the  towers,  are  constructed   of   wood,  instead    of 
stone  as  was   originally  planned.      In  the   main   hall, 
where  examinations,  alumni  meetings,  etc.,  are  held,  are 
hung  the   coats-of-arms  of  all   the   States,  and  the  por 
traits  of  various  benefactors,  graduates  and  officers  of 
the  college.     The  cost  of  the  building  was  a  little  more 
than  $27,000,  of  which  the  college  paid   $16,000,  the 
Linonia  society  $5800,  and  the  Brothers  $5500. 

Corresponding  to  this  structure,  in  the  south  west 
angle  of  the  yard,  corner  of  Chapel  and  High  streets, 
stands  the  Art  Building,  the  handsomest  edifice  which  the 
college  or  the  city  can  boast  of.  Its  cornerstone — con 
taining  a  copper  box,  wherein  were  deposited  various 
mementos  of  the  occasion  ;  coins,  medals,  pamphlets 
and  newspapers — was  laid,  with  due  ceremony,  Novem 
ber  1 6,  1864  j  the  roofs  were  put  on  by  the  close  of  the 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  25 

following  year  ;  and  the  entire  work  was  accepted  by 
the  corporation  as  "  finished,"  just  before  the  Com 
mencement  of  1866  ;  though  it  was  a  year  later  before 
the  "  opening  reception"  was  held  and  the  public  ad 
mitted  to  the  galleries.  u  The  general  shape  of  the 
building  is  this  :  the  south  wing,  fronting  on  Chapel 
street,  is  a  building  34  by  80  feet  in  size,  exclusive  of 
projections  ;  the  north  wing  is  a  building  36  by  76  feet  in 
size,  exclusive  of  projections,  and  stands  considerably 
in  advance  of  the  other  wing  on  the  college  grounds. 
The  two  are  connected  by  an  intermediate  building,  44 
by  80  feet  in  size.  The  general  form  is  that  of  the  let 
ter  H,  in  which  the  right-hand  stroke  together  with 
the  cross  stroke  are  somewhat  dropped.  The  exte 
rior  is  much  broken  in  outline,  but  is  extremely  plain  in 
its  details.  With  the  exception  of  the  Chapel  street 
entrance,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  any  ornaments, 
everything  that  is  seen  being  for  some  constructive  pur 
pose.  The  north  wing,  however,  has  an  addition  in  the 
form  of  a  tower,  which  forms  the  entrance  from  the  col 
lege  grounds,  and  connects  with  the  main  hall  by  a  cor 
ridor  covered  with  a  lean-to  roof.  At  the  angles  of  the 
wings  are  small  turrets,  serving  as  ventilators,  which,  to 
gether  with  the  larger  tower,  are  still  unfinished.  On 
the  Chapel  street  side  is  a  projection,  which  forms  a 
porch  on  the  first  story,  and  a  small  room  in  the  second 
story,  and  is  terminated  with  a  gable  roof.  The  two 
wing  buildings  are  covered  with  hipped  roofs,  the  upper 
halves  of  which  are  of  iron  and  glass.  The  connecting 
building  is  covered  with  a  four-pitched  roof.  The  whole 
building  is  very  massive,  both  in  its  materials  and  ef 
fects.  The  base-course  and  basement  walls  under 
ground  are  of  North  Haven  stone,  the  facing  of  all  the 
exterior  walls  is  of  Belleville  (N.  J.)  sandstone,  and  the 
water-tables,  sills,  lintels,  labels,  etc.,  are  of  Connecticut 

3 


26  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

river  sandstone.  The  arches  are  of  alternate  Belleville 
and  Cleveland  stone.  The  columns  of  the  front  porch 
are  of  Gloucester  (Mass.)  granite,  and  the  capitals  are 
carved  with  original  designs  after  natural  foliage,  in 
Cleveland  stone.  The  roof  is  slated.  The  timber 
throughout  is  of  Pennsylvania  white  pine.  The  floors 
are  of  oak  and  black  walnut,  and  the  inside  finish  of 
the  halls  and  stairs  is  of  chestnut.  The  architecture  is 
in  the  style  advocated  by  the  *  rationalistic  school,' 
whose  aim  is  to  give  prominent  expression  to  the  con 
structive  features  of  buildings,  and  to  revive  the  system 
of  decoration  in  use  in  the  i3th  century."  Underneath 
the  whole  building  is  a  basement,  12  feet  high,  divided 
into  lecture  rooms,  modeling  rooms,  etc.,  besides  the 
halls  and  stairways,  and  fuel  and  furnace  rooms.  Its 
outer  entrance  is  beside  the  tower.  The  first  story  is 
1 6  feet  high,  and  is  divided  into  studios,  professor's  and 
curator's  rooms,  and  a  lecture  room  80  feet  square,  from 
which,  if  desired,  three  studios  can  be  formed  by  the 
erection  of  screens.  "  The  second  story  hall,  reached 
by  a  broad  stairway,  is  14  feet  wide,  44  feet  long  and  15 
feet  high,  and  from  it  all  the  exhibition  rooms  can  be 
entered.  At  the  end  of  the  hall  are  the  entrances  to 
the  two  large  sky-light  galleries,  and  on  the  side  are 
two  entrances  to  the  long  room  for  engravings  and  pho 
tographs.  This  room  is  of  the  same  size  as  the  hall, 
and  also  connects  the  two  large  galleries.  The  north 
gallery  measures  22  by  72  feet,  is  21  feet  high  to  the 
highest  point  of  the  curved  ceiling,  and  32  feet  high  to 
the  peak  of  the  skylight.  The  walls  upon  which  the 
pictures  are  hung  are  16  feet  in  hight,  three  feet  of 
which  are  occupied  by  the  wainscoting.  At  one  end  of 
this  room  is  an  oriel  window,  projecting  beyond  the  wall 
of  the  building,  and  affording  an  excellent  view  of  the 
college  grounds.  Nearby  is  a  private  door,  connecting 


HISTORICAL   AND   EXPLANATORY.  27 

with  a  small  room  in  the  tower,  to  which  access  can 
also  be  had  by  means  of  a  corridor  under  the  lean-to 
roof.  The  tower  affords  access  to  the  roof  and  attic, 
which  latter  is  a  large  room,  thus  far  unoccupied.  The 
south  gallery  measures  30  by  76  feet,  and  is  similar  in 
every  way  to  the  other,  except  that  it  is  35  feet  in 
hight  to  the  peak  of  the  skylight.  Opening  out  of  this 
gallery,  and  over  the  front  entrance,  is  a  small  room  af 
fording  an  excellent  view  of  the  street.  The  front  win- 

O 

clow  of  this  room  goes  down  to  the  floor  and  opens 
upon  a  stone  balcony."  The  building  has  thus  far  cost 
about  $200,000,  or  more  than  twice  what  was  estimated 
at  the  outset ;  but,  fortunately  for  the  college,  the  donor 
— Augustus  R.  Street,  of  the  class  of  1812 — continued 
to  add  to  his  original  appropriation  of  $80,000,  as  the 
necessity  of  the  work  required,  and  provided  in  his  will 
for  its  ultimate  completion.  He  died  June  12,  1866, 
and  his  entire  gifts  to  the  college  amount  to  upwards 
of  $280,000, — by  far  the  largest  sum  ever  received  by 
the  institution  from  any  single  source.  He  did  not  de 
sire  that  his  chief  monument  should  be  called  by  his 
name,  however,  but  simply  entitled  it  "  Yale  School  of 
the  Fine  Arts,"  and  this  name,  with  the  date  "  A.  D. 
1864,"  is  inscribed  upon  the  large  slab  at  the  base  of 
the  oriel  window.  Since  his  death,  a  marble  tablet  in 
commemoration  of  his  gift,  has  been  let  into  the  wall  of 
the  lower  hall,  near  the  entrance.  The  architect  of  the 
Art  Building  was  P.  B.  Wight  of  New  York,  and  the 
masons  were  Perkins  &  Chatfield,  who  also  did  the  ma 
sonry  for  the  Library  and  Alumni  Hall. 

Besides  the  fourteen  buildings  already  described,  the 
only  others  within  the  yard,  while  '69  was  in  college, 
were  the  two  wooden  dwelling-houses,  —  situated  be 
tween  the  Library  and  Art  Building,  and  facing  on  High 
street, — one  of  which  is  carried  on  as  a  boarding  house 


28  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

under  the  direction   of  the  college   authorities.     For  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  the  need  of  new  dormitory  build 
ings  had  been  recognized   and   talked  about,  until    in 
1868  it  was  decided  to  begin  active  measures  for  the  re 
construction  of  the  college  yard,  and  ground  for  a  new 
dormitory  was  staked  out,  in  front  of  South  Middle  and 
the  Lyceum.     It  was  to  be  one  link  in  a  chain  of  build 
ings  which  were  ultimately  to  surround  the   square,  and 
so— after  the  demolition  of  the   eight   "  factories"  and 
the   three  inferior  structures   behind   them— enclose   a 
large   open    rectangle    within.       But    the  ground    had 
hardly  been  staked  out  and  the  general  plan  of  recon 
struction  made  public,  when  a  cry   was   raised   in   the 
newspapers  that  the  beauty  of  the  college  green— the 
pride  of  the   city— would  be   ruined   thereby  ;  and  the 
champions  of  the  elms  exhorted  the  authorities  to  put 
up  their  murderous  axes  and  spare   those   noble  trees. 
The  work,  begun  after  twenty  years'  deliberation,  was 
accordingly  postponed  once  more,  and  an  extensive  dis 
cussion  was  for  several  months  carried  on,  in  regard  to 
the  advisability  of  removing  the  site   of  the  college   to 
the   outskirts  of  the  city.     The   result  of  it   was,  that, 
after  the  fullest  consideration  of  all  the  points  involved, 
it  was  decided   by   the   authorities  that   while,  on   the 
whole,  the  removal  would  be  advantageous  to  the  insti 
tution,  the  state  of  its  finances  rendered  any  such  re 
moval  practically  impossible.     In  accordance  with  this 
decision— which  may  be  accepted  as  final— the  original 
plan  of  reconstruction  was  reverted  to,  after  a  year's  de 
lay,  and  on  Monday  morning,  August   2,  1869,  ground 
was  quietly  broken  for  the  building  which  is  expected 
to  introduce  "  a  new  dormitory  system''  at  Yale.     Only 
three  elms  were  cut  down  to  give  room  for  it,  and   the 
appearance  of  the  yard,  as  seen  from  Chapel  street,  is 
net  materially  altered  by  its  presence.     It  sets  back  20 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  29 

feet  from  College  street,  and  100  feet  from  Elm,  thus 
leaving  room  for  the  proposed  Memorial  Chapel  upon 
the  corner,  and  of  course  stands  in  front  of  North  Col 
lege  and  the  open  space  between  it  and  Divinity's 
former  site.  Exclusive  of  projections,  it  measures  174 
by  37  feet,  and  is  four  stories  in  bight,  besides  a  light 
basement  and  Mansard  slated  roof,  which  is  surmounted 
by  a  pair  of  turrets,  also  slated.  The  walls  are  of 
brick,  laid  in  cement,  and  trimmed  with  dark  blue 
stone  from  the  Hudson  river,  as  well  as  the  common 
Portland  free  stone,  while  the  slabs  above  the  entrances 
are  of  Westchester  (N.  Y.)  marble,  and  the  pillars  which 
support  them  are  of  polished  granite.  The  entrances 
are  approached  from  the  inner  side  of  the  college  yard 
and  are  three  in  number,  corresponding  to  the  number 
of  stairways  which  are  situated  in  these  projections, 
which  are  rounded  on  the  College  street  side  and  an 
gular  upon  the  inner  front.  There  are  49  studies  or 
parlors  in  the  building,  each  measuring  13  by  16  feet, 
and  all  but  nine  of  them  are  supplied  with  a  pair  of 
bedrooms — each  of  which  has  a  window  of  its  own — 
and  clothes'  closets.  The  nine  rooms  without  these 
appendages  are  situated  in  the  stairways,  and  serve 
mostly  as  offices  for  members  of  the  faculty.  In  the 
basement,  to  which  there  are  two  entrances  from  the 
street  front,  the  janitor  lives  with  his  family.  The  fur 
nace  and  water  closets  are  also  situated  there.  All  the 
rooms  are  heated  by  steam  and  lighted  by  gas,  and  are 
said  to  be  more  perfectly  ventilated  than  those  of  any 
other  building  in  New  Haven.  They  were  first  occu 
pied  on  the  opening  of  the  fall  term  of  1870.  Twelve 
months  later  it  is  hoped  that  the  finishing  touches  will 
have  been  given  to  the  Durfee  College,  the  excavation 
for  which  was  begun  upon  the  afternoon  of  the  second 
day  of  May,  1870.  This  is  the  largest  structure  in  the 


3°  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YAL/-.. 

college  yard,  extending  on  Elm  street  from  the  site  of 
the  east  front  of  Divinity  College  to  the  vicinity  of 
Alumni  Hall,  and  setting  back  about  20  feet  from  that 
street.  Its  length  is  181  feet  and  its  breadth  38  feet, 
except  at  either  end  where  its  breadth  is  40  feet,  and  it 
is  four  stories  in  hight,  with  lighted  basement  and 
common  single-pitch  roof.  Its  material  is  the  same 
New  Jersey  sandstone  of  which  the  Art  Building  is 
constructed,  while  the  light  yellow  stone  from  Cleve 
land,  and  the  dark  blue  from  the  Hudson  river,  as  well 
as  red  Philadelphia  bricks,  are  used  for  trimmings  and 
decorations.  The  general  effect  of  the  structure,  how 
ever,  is  plain  and  massive  rather  than  ornamental. 
There  are  84  parlors  or  studies,  and  five  entries  through 
which  to  approach  them.  Each  study  is  supplied  -with 
a  pair  of  closets  and  bedrooms,  and  the  latter  are  a 
third  larger  than  those  in  the  Farnam  College,  and  all 
look  out  upon  the  north  or  Elm  street  side  of  the  build 
ing.  All  of  the  studies,  on  the  other  hand,  front  upon 
the  college  yard,  and  the  entrances  are  all  upon  that 
side  of  the  building,  as  are  the  five  pairs  of  brick  chim 
neys  which  project  from  the  roof  directly  above  them. 
The  arrangements  in  the  basement  and  those  for  light 
ing  and  heating  are  to  be  the  same  as  in  the  other  dor 
mitory,  except  that  flues  have  been  constructed  so  that 
stoves  can  be  used  in  every  room,  if  preferred.  The 
cost  of  the  edifice  was  about  $120,000,  or  double  that 
of  the  other  one.  Russell  Sturges  is  the  architect  of 
both  the  new  buildings.  The  masonry  of  one  or  both 
or  them  has  been  done  by  I.  Thompson  and  Smith  *\r 
Sperry ;  and  the  carpentry  by  Elihti  Larkins.  The 
next  building  to  be  erected  within  the  college  yard  will 
be  the  Peabody  Museum.  It  will  probably  face  upon 
Chapel  street,  and  extend  from  near  the  College  street 
corner  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Art  Building,  though  neither 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  31 

the  locality  upon  which  to  erect  nor  the  time  of  erect 
ing  have  yet  been  definitely  decided. 

At  the  same  time  with  the  raising  of  the  first  college 
hall  in  1716,  was  commenced  the  erection  of  a  "presi 
dent's  house,"  which  was  finished  in  1722,  and  was  oc 
cupied  for  eighty  years,  or  until  1799,  by  a  half  dozen 
successive  presidents.  It  was  situated  on  College 
street,  near  the  south  \vest  corner  of  Chapel,  and  was 
finally  demolished  in  1834.  From  the  sale  of  it,  and 
the  lands  on  which  it  stood,  were  derived  the  funds  for 
constructing  a  new  president's  house,  which  was  finished 
in  the  autumn  of  1799.  This  stood  within  the  college 
yard,  in  front  of  the  space  between  North  and  Divinity 
colleges,  and  was  moved  away  in  1860.  Only  two  pres 
idents  made  use  of  it,  for  the  present  incumbent,  since 
his  entry  into  office  in  1846,  has  occupied  a  house  of 
his  own,  on  Church  street.  A  house  for  the  professor 
of  divinity  was  begun  in  June,  1757,  and  completed 
within  a  year,  at  a  cost  of  about  £300  sterling.  It  was 
probably  not  occupied  by  him  later  than  the  year  1794. 
At  present,  the  only  college  building  outside  the  yard  is 
the  Gymnasium,  on  Library  street,  near  the  corner  of 
High.  It  is  a  plain  brick  structure,  measuring  50  by  100 
feet,  and  was  built  in  1859  at  a  cost  of  about  $11,170. 
It  consists  of  a  basement,  for  bowling  alleys  and  bath 
rooms,  and  a  main  hall  for  gymnastic  exercises,  which 
measures  35  feet  in  hight  to  the  peak  of  the  roof. 
Across  the  south  end  of  this  apartment  is  stretched  a 
gallery,  containing  dressing  closets  and  a  pair  of  rooms 
for  the  instructor  in  gymnastics.  Opposite  the  gymna 
sium  is  a  double  dwelling-house,  of  brick,  three  stories 
high,  containing  about  a  dozen  available  rooms,  which 
house  is  owned  and  carried  on  by  the  college  ;  and 
those  students  (Freshmen)  who  occupy  its  rooms  are 
charged  rent  for  the  same  upon  their  term  bills,  like  the 
occupants  of  the  regular  college  dormitories. 


33  /''067V'    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Connected    with    the    college    are    four    professional 
"schools"  or  "departments,"  of  which  it  naturally  hap 
pens  that  the  oldest  is  the  Theological.     The  college 
itself  was  founded  by  ministers,  for  training  young  men 
for  the  ministry  ;  theology  was  one  of  the  chief  under 
graduate  studies;  and  the  first  professorship  established 
was  that  of  Divinity,  in    1755.     The  first  three  incum 
bents  of  the  office— the  third  of  whom   also  served  at 
the  same  time  as  president  of  the  college— were  in  the 
habit  of  "  conducting  a   number  of  resident  graduates 
through  a  course  of  theological  studies  such  as  was  con 
sidered  in  those  times  a  competent  preparation  for  the 
pastoral  office,"  and  when  the   fourth  was  installed,  in 
1817,  "the  instruction  of  theological  students  was  dis 
tinctly  included  among  his  duties."     In   1822,  the  de 
partment  was  formally  organized  by  the  corporation,  in 
response  to  a  petition  from  fifteen  would-be  Theologues. 
It  now  numbers  a  half-dozen  professors  and  about  fifty 
students,  and  in  all  upwards  of  800  students  have  been 
connected  with  it.     Its  annual  session  of  eight  months 
extends  from  September  to  May,  when  a  public  anni 
versary  is  held.     The  latter  feature  was  introduced  in 
1867,  or  rather  revived  then  after  being  omitted  for  a 
dozen  years  or  more.     Then,  too,  for  the  first   time  the 
corporation  conferred  the  degree  of  D.B.  (Bachelor  of 
Divinity)   upon    those   who   had   completed   the  three 
years'  course.      Divinity  College  was  erected  for  the 
Theologues,  in   1835,  and   no   rent  was   charged  those 
\vho  occupied  its  dormitories.     Some  of  its  rooms  were 
put   to  public   service  for  the  holding  of  lectures  and 
recitations,    and    these  were    likewise    held   in   various 
apartments  of  the  other  buildings,  at  such  seasons  and 
hours    as    found  them  vacated  by  their  regular   occu 
pants. 

All  these   drawbacks,  however,  have    recently   been 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  33 

put  an  end  to  by  the  completion  of  a  new  building, 
whose  corner  stone  was  laid  September  22,  1869,— 
ground  having  been  broken,  July  13,  previous.  It 
stands  on  the  north-west  corner  of  College  and  Elm 
streets,  measuring  164  feet  on  the  former  by  43  feet  on 
the  latter,  and  setting  back  about  a  dozen  feet  from 
both.  The  dimensions  of  its  lot — which  is  enclosed  by 
an  ornamented  iron  fence — are  195  by  no  feet,  and 
space  is  thus  afforded  for  the  additions  which  it  is  pro 
posed  hereafter  to  make  to  the  building.  Its  wings  are 
five  stories — and  75  feet — in  hight ;  the  middle  portion 
has  only  four  stories.  It  is  warmed  throughout  by 
steam  and  lighted  by  gas,  and  fire-places  are  also  pro 
vided  in  all  the  rooms.  There  are  about  50  of  these  dor 
mitories,  besides  lecture,  reading  and  library  rooms, 
corridors,  janitor's  office,  bath  rooms,  water-closets,  etc. 
The  walls  are  of  brick,  red  and  black,  trimmed  with 
Nova  Scotia  stone,  and  the  roofs  are  of  slate,  sur 
mounted  by  an  iron  railing.  The  architect  was  Richard 
M.  Hunt  of  New  York,  and  the  entire  cost  of  the 
structure  was  $130,000.  The  original  plan  of  the 
building  contemplated  the  erection  on  Elm  street  of  a 
small  but  tasteful  chapel,  and  in  February  of  the  pres 
ent  year  Francis  Marquand  of  Southport  offered  to  sup 
ply  the  necessary  funds  ($25,000)  for  its  erection.  Work 
was  shortly  afterwards  begun  upon  it,  and  it  is  expected 
that  the  building  will  be  ready  for  use  at  the  opening  of 
the  new  year  in  September.  By  the  enterprise  of  the 
ladies  belonging  to  some  of  the  city  churches,  all  the 
dormitories  were  comfortably  and  even  elegantly  fitted 
up  with  carpets,  bed,  bedding,  and  every  necessary  ar 
ticle  of  furniture.  A  few  of  the  parlors  have  two  bed 
rooms  attached  to  them,  but  in  general  provision  is  made 
for  each  student  to  have  a  parlor  and  bedroom  by  himself. 

There  is  no  charge  for  rent,  tuition,  or  the  use  of  libra- 

„* 


34  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ries ;  and  those  who  require  it  receive  a  dollar  a  week 
towards  the  expense  of  board,  and  have  their  washing 
done  free  of  charge.  They  also  receive  $100  a  year 
from  the  income  of  scholarships  and  other  funds,  and 
an  additional  $100  a  year  in  case  they  are  the  benefici 
aries  of  the  American  Educational  Society.  "In  gen 
eral  it  may  be  said,  that  sufficient  aid  will  be  provided 
for  every  young  man  who  gives  promise  of  usefulness 
in  the  ministry,  to  enable  him,  in  connection  with  his 
owirefiforts,  to  complete  a  course -of  theological  study." 
The  endowed  scholarships  bear  respectively  the  names 
of  James  Hillhouse,  William  Leffingwell,  George  E. 
Dunham,  Normand  Smith,  E.  E.  Salisbury,  Thomas  R. 
Trowbridge,  Charles  Atwater,  Richard  Borden,  Samuel 
Holmes,  Roland  Mather,  Noah  Porter,  John  DeForest, 
J.  R.  Beadle,  and  David  Root. 

The  Law  School  grew  out  of  the  main  college  in 
much  the  same  way  as  the  one  just  described.  In  1801 
a  professor  of  Law  was  appointed  ;  not  for  the  purpose 
of  training  undergraduates  for  the  bar,  but  rather  of 
giving  lectures  to  them  on  the  general  principles  of  law 
and  government, — a  practice  which  is  still  kept  up. 
He  resigned  his  office  at  the  expiration  of  nine  years. 
The  next  incumbent  did  not  begin  his  duties  until 
1826,  when  he  opened  a  private  class  for  law  students, 
which  has  since  been  recognized  as  the  beginning  of 
the  present  school.  In  all,  about  1400  students  have 
been  connected  with  it,  of  whom  280  have  been  admit 
ted  to  the  degree  of  LL.B.  (Bachelor  of  Laws),  which 
was  first  conferred  in  1848.  The  regular  course  occu 
pies  two  years,  and  the  year  corresponds  with  that  of 
the  college,  except  that  it  is  divided  into  two  terms  in 
stead  of  three.  Those  who  before  entering  the  depart 
ment,  have  taken  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  Ph.B.,  or  B.S.,  at 
any  college,  receive  their  degree  after  an  attendance  of 


HISTORICAL   AND   EXPLANATORY.  35 

three  terms;  members  of  the  bar,  after  an  attendance 
of  two  terms  ;  all  others,  after  the  full  course  of  four 
terms.  The  faculty  consists  of  the  president,  a  pro 
fessor  and  three  lecturers  or  instructors.  The  rooms  of 
the  school  are  in  the  Leffingwell  Building,  corner  of 
Church  and  Court  streets.  Its  special  library  numbers 
about  2000  volumes.  "  At  present  the  department  is 
not  only  without  funds  of  its  own,  but  is  in  debt  to  the 
general  fund  of  the  college." 

The  Medical  Institution,  though  third  in  the  order  of 
development,  was  the  first  of  the  professional  schools 
to  get  into  active  operation.  As  early  as  1806  the  pro 
priety  of  establishing  a  course  of  lectures  for  the  ben 
efit  of  medical  students  was  discussed  by  the  corpo 
ration,  but  it  was  thought  best  to  secure  the  assistance  of 
the  State  Medical  Society,  before  taking  any  action. 
Accordingly,  four  years  later,  that  society  joined  with 
the  corporation  in  applying  for  a  change  of  charter,  and 
the  present  "school"  was  founded.  Its  organization 
was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1812,  and  a  year  later  the 
first  course  of  lectures  was  delivered.  The  faculty  con 
sists  of  the  president  and  eight  professors,  while  a  like 
number  of  doctors  chosen  by  the  State  Medical  Society 
— of  which  the  president  thereof  is  always  one — are  ad 
ditional  members  of  the  examining  board.  The  degree 
of  M.D.  (Doctor  of  Medicine)  has  been  conferred  on 
800  individuals, — about  a  third  of  the  whole  number 
ever  connected  with  the  school.  For  the  past  few  years 
it  has  had  about  30  students  ;  in  1822  it  had  three  times 
that  number.  Every  candidate  for  a  degree  must  have 
studied  medicine  for  two  years, — or  for  three  years  if 
not  a  college  graduate, — and  must  have  attended  two 
full  courses  of  medical  lectures,  at  least  one  of  them  at 
Yale.  In  1814  the  Legislature  appropriated  to  the 
school  $20,000  of  a  $50,000  bonus,  which  the  State  re- 


36  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

ceivecl  from  the  Phoenix  bank  of  Hartford  for  its  char 
ter.  With  these  and  other  funds  contributed  by  indi 
viduals — of  which  the  largest  single  gift  was  $5000 — 
was  purchased,  of  James  Hillhouse  who  built  it,  the 
square  stone  edifice  on  Grove  street,  at  the  foot  of  Col 
lege,  now  occupied  by  the  Scientific  School.  It  was 
sold  to  Mr.  Sheffield  for  the  latter  purpose  in  1859,  and 
with  the  proceeds  was  erected  the  present  Medical  Col 
lege  on  York  street.  This  is  a  stucco  building,  53 
feet  square  and  three  stories  high,  containing  a  commo 
dious  lecture  room,  lighted  from  the  top,  an  extensive 
anatomical  museum,  dissecting  rooms,  offices,  etc. 
•'  The  remaining  property  of  the  institution,  invested 
principally  in  bank  stocks,  yields  an  income  of  about 
Siooo  annually,  which  is  inadequate  even  to  its  current 
and  necessary  miscellaneous  expenses." 

Youngest  but  most  important  of  the  departments  is 
that  of  Philosophy  and  the  Arts,  or  as  it  commonly 
termed,  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School.  Preparations 
were  made  for  commencing  it  in  1846,  but  the  first  stu 
dents  were  received  at  the  beginning  of  the  following 
academic  year.  For  a  long  time  before  this,  Prof.  Sil- 
liman,  Sr.,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  instructing  a  private 
class  of  young  men,  who  desired  a  more  thorough  and 
extended  course  in  natural  science  than  was  furnished 
in  the  regular  curriculum.  Such  special  students  were 
allowed  the  privilege  of  the  libraries,  cabinets,  etc., 
though  not  officially  recognized  as  members  of  the  in 
stitution.  At  the  Commencement  of  1847,  the  corpo 
ration  voted  to  establish  a  "  Department  of  Philosophy 
and  the  Arts,"  under  the  direction  of  two  professors, 
one  of  whom — B.  Silliman,  Jr. — had  for  five  years  been 
privately  conducting  a  special  class  in  chemistry ;  and 
the  old  president's  house,  vacated  the  year  before,  was 
fitted  up  as  a  laboratory  for  their  use.  There  were 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  37 

eleven  students  the  first  year,  six  of  whom  were  college 
graduates.  Of  the  eight  who  completed  the  course,  six 
were  given  the  degree  of  Ph.B.  (Bachelor  of  Philoso 
phy)  in  1852,  and  count  as  the  earliest  graduates  of  the 
school,  in  which  three  of  them  are  now  professors.  In 
1852  a  professor  of  Civil  Engineering  was  appointed, 
and  began  his  instructions,  in  the  attic  of  the  Chapel, 
with  26  students.  Two  years  afterwards,  his  classes 
were  associated  with  the  chemical  students  under  the 
name  of  "  Yale  Scientific  School,"  in  which  they  have 
since  formed  a  distinct  "  section."  Xhe  end  of  ten 
years  found  the  new  department  possessed  of  a  half- 
dozen  professors  and  instructors,  but,  as  from  the  very 
first,  almost  entirely  without  endowment.  At  this  crisis, 
Joseph  E.  Sheffield,  who  had  been  the  school's  best 
patron,  came  forward  with  an  offer  to  provide  a  build 
ing  and  permanent  fund.  He  accordingly  bought  the 
old  Medical  College,  at  the  head  of  College  street,  had 
it  refitted,  added  two  large  wings,  provided  a  large 
amount  of  apparatus,  and  gave  a  fund  of  $50,000  for 
the  maintenance  of  three  professorships.  The  building 
was  taken  possession  of  in  the  summer  of  1860.  Five 
years  later,  it  was  enlarged  by  the.  addition  of  a  three- 
story  structure  to  connect  the  wings,  two  towers,  and 
other  improvements.  The  front  tower  is  90  feet  high 
and  1 6  feet  square,  contains  a  belfry-clock  with  four 
dials,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  revolving  turret  in  which 
an  equatorial  telescope  is  placed.  The  north-western 
tower,  of  the  same  dimensions  and  50  feet  high,  was 
built  for  the  reception  of  a  meridian  circle.  The  ex 
treme  length  of  the  edifice,  measured  from  this  tower 
to  the  east  side,  is  117  feet,  and  the  extreme  depth  is 
112  feet.  The  original  building  of  stone  and  the  addi 
tions  of  brick  are  alike  covered  with  brownish  stucco. 
In  purchasing  and  refitting  this  structure  and  endowing 


38  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  school— to  both  of  which  by  vote  of  the  corporation 
m  1860  his  name  was  applied  — Mr.  Sheffield  has  ex 
pended  upwards  of  $175,000.  His  own  residence,  en 
tered  from  Hillhouse  avenue,  closely  adjoins  the  prem 


ises 


Connecticut's  share  —  180,000  acres  —  of   the  Con 
gressional  land-grant  of  1863  was  ultimately  transferred 
to  the  school,  which  now  enjoys  the  income  of  the  $135,- 
ooo  derived  from  the  sale  of  it.     In   return   for  this, 
forty  free  State-scholarships  were  established,  and   the 
governor,  lieutenant-governor,  the  three  senior  senators 
and  the  secretary  of  the  State  board  of  education,  were 
constituted  a  "  board  of  visitation"  on  the  part  of  the 
State.     For  their  benefit  an  annual  report  is  prepared 
and  printed,— the  first  one  being  issued  in   1866.     The 
governing  board  or  faculty  consists  of  the  president,  a 
dozen  professors,  and  half  as  many  other  instructors. 
For  the  past  few  years  the  number  of  students  has  been 
about  140,  and  27  graduated  in  the  class  of  '69.     The 
regular  course,  for  the   degree  of  Ph.B.,  is   three  years 
in  length,— the  last  two  years  being  divided  into  seven 
distinct  departments  or  "sections,"  and  each  man  choos 
ing  for  himself  which  of  them  he  will  follow.     An  ad 
ditional  year  in  the  Engineering  Section   secures   the 
degree^  of  C.  E.  (Civil  Engineer),  which  was  first  con 
ferred  in  1867.     The  anniversary  exercises  are  held  in 
Sheffield  Hall,  on  the  Monday  before  the  college  Com 
mencement,  though  the  degrees  are  not  conferred  until 
the  latter  occasion.     Besides  the  three  regular  classes 
of  undergraduates,  there  is   a  fourth  class   of  "special 
students,  not  candidates  for  a  degree,"  and  an  advanced 
class,  composed  of  graduates  of  the  school,  the  col 
lege,  and  other  similar  institutions.     The  "  second  sec 
tion"  of  the  Department  of  Philosophy  and  the  Arts— 
m  which,  if  anywhere,  lie  the  germs  of  a  future  univer- 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATOJ^.  39 

sity — has  been  rather  overshadowed  by  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  first  or  Scientific  School  section.  No  regular 
courses  of  study  have  as  yet  been  provided  for  it,  but 
the  Bachelor  candidates  for  its  degree,  Ph.D.  (Doctor 
of  Philosophy),  must  read  for  two  years  at  New  Haven, 
under  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in  at  least  two 
distinct  branches  of  learning.  During  the  past  ten  years, 
seventeen  persons  have  received  this  degree,  though 
it  was  not  conferred  upon  any  one  in  1864  and  '65. 

Sheffield  Hall  being  entirely  taken  up  with  recitation 
and  lecture  rooms,  laboratories,  cabinets,  library  and 
reading  rooms,  professors'  studies,  observatories,  corri 
dors,  etc.,  the' students  have  all  been  obliged  to  occupy, 
rooms  out  in  town,  but  a  large  brick  block  in  the  vi 
cinity,  which  supplies  lodging  rooms  for  quite  a  large 
number  of  them,  serves  as  a  sort  of  headquarters  and 
rendezvous,  and  in  some  slight  way  supplies  the  want 
of  a  regular  dormitory  building.  Before  the  demolish- 
ment  of  Divinity  College  had  been  decided  upon,  it  was 
proposed  to  surrender  to  them  its  32  dormitories,  which 
the  Theologues  were  to  have  no  further  use  for,  after  the 
opening  of  the  new  Divinity  building  ;  but  had  the  plan 
been  carried  out,  it  is  not  likely  that  their  introduction 
into  the  college  yard  would  have  introduced  them  to 
the  acquaintance  of  the  regular  college  students.  The 
latter  have  thus  far  been  wont,  as  it  were,  to  look  down 
upon  them,  as  being  in  a  sense  their  inferiors.  Without 
any  open  show  of  hostility,  a  sort  of  keep-y our- distance 
air  of  the  college  men  towards  the  students  of  the 
school  effectively  repels  the  latter.  Both  frequently 
meet  together  at  the  boat  house  and  gymnasium,  and 
less  often  in  the  lecture  room,  but  they  do  not  mingle, 
and  few  acquaintanceships  are  formed.  Occasionally 
it  happens  that  a  member  of  the  school  "  runs  with"  a 


40  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

particular  college  class,  for  two  or  three  years,  and  be 
comes  in  a  measure  identified  with  it,  but  the  fact  only 
renders  it  the  more  evident  that  there  is  no  general  as 
sociation  between  the  two  species  of  undergraduates. 
A  sentiment  analogous  to  "  class  feeling"  clearly  separates 
them  from  each  other.  In  the  three  other  departments 
the  students  are  older  than  those  in  college,  and  the 
latter  naturally  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  The 
students  in  Law  and  Medicine  are  seldom  known  or 
thought  of  at  all,  any  more  than  townies  ;  but  the  Theo- 
logues  are  the  traditional  objects  of  a  sort  of  good- 
natured  derision.  To  speak  of  them  as  monsters  of 
vice  and  iniquity,  has  been  a  favorite  practice  from  time 
immemorial. 

The  funds  by  which  the  college  has  been  supported 
have  been  derived  almost  exclusively  from  individuals. 
The  entire  gifts  of  every  sort   made  by  the  Common 
wealth  of  Connecticut  in  the  course  of  170  years,  have 
only  amounted   to  $100,000,  of  which  the   $20,000  be 
stowed  on  the  Medical  School  was  expended  by   State 
commissioners,  and  not  controlled  by  the   corporation 
at  all.      The   last  gift— of  $7000,  made  in    1831— was 
of  money  received  by  the  State  as  a  bonus  for  a  bank 
charter,  and  almost  all  the  previous  donations  had  been 
of  a  similar  character,— made  from  unexpended  resour 
ces,  and  not  requiring  a  special  appropriation  from  the 
State   treasury.     Undoubtedly  the  annuity  granted  to 
the  institution  during  its  first  half  century  was  the  most 
valuable  State  aid  it  has  ever  received.     The  income  of 
the  $135,000  accruing  to  the  Scientific  School  from  the 
sale   of   public   lands  under  the  Congressional  act  of 
1863,  completes  the   sum   total  of  public  benefactions 
conferred  upon  the  institution.     Private  generosity  alone 
has  kept  it  alive,  though  the  bequest  of  $10,000  for  the 
library,  received    in    1834,  by  the  will  of  Alfred  E.  Per- 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  41 

kins  of  '30,  was  by  far  the  largest  individual  gift  re 
corded,  up  to  that  time.  Recently  there  have  been 
many  others  of  equal  or  larger  amounts,  of  which  those 
of  Joseph  E.  Sheffield  ($175,000,  for  the  Scientific 
School),  and  Augustus  R.  Street  ($280,000,  for  the  Art 
School,  a  professorship  of  Modern  Languages,  and  a 
Theological  professorship)  have  been  already  noted. 
Next  to  them  in  importance  is  the  gift  made  by  George 
Peabody  in  1866, — $150,000,  for  a  Museum  of  Natural 
History.  The  conditions  of  this  bequest  are  that  not 
more  than  $100,000  shall  be  expended  in  the  erection 
of  the  first  section  of  a  fire-proof  building ;  that  $20,- 
ooo  shall  be  left  to  accumulate  to  at  least  five  times  that 
amount,  when  it  shall  be  expended  in  completing  the 
building;  and  that  $30,000  shall  be  permanently  in 
vested  for  the  support  of  the  Museum.  A  dormitory 
fund  of  $100,000  from  Bradford  M.  C.  Durfee,  a  non- 
graduate  of  '67  ;  a  similar  fund  of  $40,000  from  Henry 
Farnam  ;  a  chapel  fund  of  $36,000  from  Joseph  Battell ; 
a  $30,000  pastor's  professorship  from  Simeon  E.  Chit- 
tenden  ;  a  gift  of  $25,000  to  the  Theologues  from  Wil 
liam  A.  Buckingham,  and  fourteen  other  gifts  of  not 
less  than  $5000  each,  comprised  the  most  important 
additions  to  the  college  property  in  the  eight  years  fol 
lowing  1860.  More  recently  a  fund  of  $50,000  has 
been  given  by  William  Phelps,  the  annual  income  of 
which  is  to  be  spent  by  the  college  under  the  direction 
of  his  son,  William  W.  Phelps  of  '60,  during  the  latter's 
life  time,  and  is  finally  to  fall  wholly  into  the  control  of 
the  authorities.  For  the  Scientific  School,  too,  about 
$125,000  has  been  raised  in  sums  of  varying  amounts, 
and  among  other  things  the  professorship  of  Sanscrit 
has  thereby  been  placed  upon  the  respectable  foundation 
of  $50,000.  In  February  of  the  present  year  Francis 
Marquand  presented  the  $25,000  already  mentioned  for 


42  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  construction  of  a  chapel  for  the  Theologues.  Every 
one  of  these  large  gifts  being  for  a  specific  purpose,  the 
availability  of  the  general  fund  of  the  college  has  been 
diminished  rather  than  increased  by  their  reception. 
It  now  amounts  to  but  $300,000 — a  sum  whose  income 
is  far  too  small  to  meet  the  every  day  necessities  of  the 
college,  the  total  professorship  endowments  of  which 
are  only  $125,000.  In  1831,  when  poverty  was  bring 
ing  the  college  to  death's  door,  a  desperate  attempt  to 
lift  it  from  bankruptcy  resulted  in  the  raising  of  a 
$100,000  fund,  from  600  separate  subscribers,  in 
amounts  varying  from  $5000  to  $4  each.  In  1853, 
another  crisis  was  averted  by  the  raising  of  a  similar 
fund  of  $150,000.  And  now,  for  a  third  time,  the  ne 
cessity  seems  imperative  of  making  a  combined  effort 
to  increase  the  general  fund.  Had  this  been  managed 
in  the  past  with  anything  but  the  shrewdest  and  closest 
economy,  the  college  would  have  been  dead  and  buried, 
years  ago.  Perhaps  the  very  fact  that  it  has  been  made 
to  "  go  so  far"  has  induced  the  prevalent  belief  in  its 
practical  inexhaustibleness  ;  for  of  all  the  grand  presents 
lately  made  to  Yale,  the  largest  addition  to  its  general 
fund,  the  largest  real  increase  to  its  available  riches, 
was  the  $5000  legacy  given  by  the  late  Chief  Justice 
Thomas  S.  Williams,  of  Hartford  and  the  class  of  '94. 

Though  most  of  the  peculiar  college  words  and 
phrases  employed  in  this  book  are  explained  wherever 
they  occur,  the  following  vocabulary  may  be  of  interest 
on  its  own  account  and  useful  for  purposes  of  reference : 
Alma  mater,  the  college  as  related  to  its  graduates. 
Alumnus,  a  graduate,  though  the  word  is  more  fre 
quently  used  in  the  plural,  alumni.  Annual,  the  ex 
amination  held  at  the  close  of  every  year.  Appointment, 
position  upon  the  faculty's  honor-roll  of  scholarship. 


HISTORICAL   AND  EXPLANATORY.  43 

These  appointments  are  announced  at  the  close  of  the 
first  junior  and  last  senior  terms.  Average,  the  lowest 
mark  ("2")  that  will  "pass"  a  man  in  his  studies. 
Banger,  a  heavy  club-cane,  mostly  carried  by  Sopho 
mores.  "Banner"  the  annual  society  list  and  college  di 
rectory.  Berkeley,  the  name  of  a  scholarship.  Biennial, 
the  examination  formerly  held  at  the  end  of  sophomore 
and  senior  years.  Blind-house,  a  secret-society  hall,  so 
called  by  the  townies  only.  Blow-out,  a  supper,  spread, 
convivial  entertainment,  especially  a  society  celebration. 
Bones  man,  a  member  of  the  Skull  and  Bones  senior  so 
ciety.  Bristed,  the  name  of  a  scholarship.  Bully,  good, 
excellent.  Bum,  a  spree,  society  supper,  or  convivial 
entertainment  of  any  sort,  innocent  or  otherwise.  Used 
also  as  a  verb  ;  whence  is  derived  bummer,  a  fast  young 
man,  a  fellow  who  bums.  Buzz,  to  interview  and  "sound'' 
a  man.  Campaign,  the  annual  strife  between  the  fresh 
man  societies  for  new  members.  Chapel,  religious  ser 
vices  which  must  be  attended  in  that  building.  Cheek, 
brazen  audacity.  Used  also  as  a  verb.  Chum,  a  room 
mate  or  particular  friend.  Sometimes  called  chummy. 
Chum  is  used  also  as  a  verb.  Church  paper,  an  official 
blank,  certifying  that  the  person  signing  it  has  attended 
Sunday  service  in  one  of  the  city  churches.  Class,  a 
body  of  students  who  enter  upon  their  studies  the  same 
year,  and  pursue  them  together  to  the  end.  The  first 
year  it  is  called  the  freshman,  the  second  year  the  sop/io- 
;//0;r,the  third  \h&  junior,  and  the  fourth  the  senior  class. 
Upper-class,  and  under-class  are  terms  of  various  appli 
cation,  according  to  the  position  of  the  person  using 
them.  A  Freshman  is  always  an  under-class  man,  and  a 
Senior  is  always  an  upper-class  man.  The  Juniors  and 
Sophomores  are  to  the  former  upper-class  men  also,  but 
to  the  latter,  they  as  well  as  the  Fresh  are  wider-class 
men.  In  general,  however,  by  upper-class  the  two  higher 


44  FOUR    YEARS  A  7'  YALE. 

classes  arc  referred  to,  and  by  under-class  the  two  lower 
ones.     Class  election,  an  after-choice  to  a  secret  society  by 
one's    own    classmates,    who    themselves    enjoyed    the 
greater  honor  of  being  chosen  by  the  class  above  them. 
Coalition,  a  political  compact  between  two  or  more  soci 
eties  for  controlling  the  elective  honors  of  a  class.     Coal 
yard,   the   college  privy.     So  named  because  the  two 
structures  used  to   be    connected.       Cock  (abbreviated 
from  Cochleaureatus),  a  member  of  the  committee  who 
awarded  the  Wooden    Spoon.      Commons,  the  college 
boarding   house.     Condition,  requirement   to    make   up 
an  unsatisfactory  examination.     Used  also  as  a  verb. 
Cram,  to  prepare  for  examination  on  a  subject,  rather 
than  to  really  master  it.     Crowd,  a  common  synonym 
for  clique,  coterie,  or  set,  especially  with  reference  to  so 
ciety  connections.    Curric  (abbreviated  from  curriculum), 
the  established  course  of  studies.     Cut,  to  absent  one's 
self  from  a  college  exercise.     Dead,  complete,  perfect ; 
as  a  dead  rush,  a  dead  flunk.     DeForest,  the  gold  medal 
of  that  name.     Dig,  a  close,  mechanical  student.     Used 
also   as    a   verb.      Used  also   as    an   abbreviation   for 
dignity.      Digger,  a  member  of  the  Spade   and  Grave 
senior  society.      Dog,  style,  splurge.      To  ////  on  dog, 
is  to  make  a  flashy  display,  to  cut  a  swell.      Drop,  to 
fall  into  a  lower  class.    Ear,  dignity,  hauteur,  self-impor 
tance.     A  man  somewhat  offended  or  indignant  is  said 
to  be  on  his  ear,  or  eary.     Egress,  the  official  name  of 
an  exit  from  a  college  exercise.     Electioneer,  to  argue 
the  claims  of  a  society,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  new 
members.     Entry,  a  hall  or  stairway  in  a  college  dormi 
tory.      Excuse  paper,  an  official   blank  upon  which  all 
excuses  for  failure  at  college  exercises  are  required  to  be 
written.     Faculty,  the  active  college  authorities.     Fizzle, 
partial  failure  on  recitation.     Flunk,  an  entire  failure.' 
Both  these  words  are  also  used   as  verbs.     Fraud,  a 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  45 

( 

humbug,  an  imposition,  a  sell.  Freshman  (often  ab 
breviated  to  Fresh),  a  collegian  in  his  first  year.  Gig- 
lamps  and  goggles,  eye-glasses.  Grad,  abbreviation  for 
graduate.  Not  common.  Grind,  a  hard  and  unpleasant 
task,  an  imposition,  a  swindle.  As  a  verb,  to  give  close 
application  to  a  study,  especially  to  a  distasteful  one. 
Grip,  a  society's  secret  mode  of  clasping  hands.  Grub, 
food,  meals,  board.  A  very  common  word,  both  as 
noun  and  verb.  Gum  game,  a  trick,  a  swindle.  Gym, 
abbreviation  for  gymnasium.  Hang  out,  to  occupy  a 
room,  to  reside.  Hash,  is  sometimes  used  in  a  sense 
similar  to  grub,  though  as  a  noun  only.  Healthy  and 
heavy,  are  used  as  sarcastically  complimentary  epithets. 
Hewgag,  a  what-d'ye-call-it,  a  thingumbob.  Honorary 
member,  a  person  elected  to  a  society  after  his  own  class 
has  ceased  to  control  it.  All  society  men,  as  soon  as 
their  class  withdraws  from  the  active  management  of  a 
society,  are  also  termed  honorary  members  of  it.  Hoop 
it  up,  to  hurry.  Perhaps  derived  from  the  driver's  ejac 
ulation,  houp  la  !  Hunky,  good,  excellent,  bully.  Joe, 
the  college  privy.  Junior  (sometimes  abbreviated  to 
Jun  or  June  by  the  necessities  of  verse),  a  collegian  in 
his  third  year.  Keys  man,  a  member  of  the  Scroll  and 
Key  senior  society.  Lab  (abbreviated  from  laboratory), 
a  word  formerly  used  to  indicate  a  student  in  chemistry. 
Lalligag,  to  fool  about,  get  the  better  of,  "  come  it  over," 
a  man.  Lay,  a  trick  of  policy,  a  little  game.  Light  out, 
to  hurry  away,  make  one's  self  scarce.  Lippus,  a  man 
of  defective  vision.  "  Lit."  the  "  Yale  Literary  Mag 
azine"  Load,  a  practical  joke,  a  sell.  Lunkhead,  a 
stupid,  slow-witted  fellow.  Make  up,  to  recite  an 
omitted  lesson.  Medic,  a  medical  student.  Rarely 
used.  Memorabil  (abbreviated  from  memorabilia),  any 
keepsake  to  remind  one  of  college  life,  especially  printed 
matter  of  every  sort.  Muffin,  an  unskilful  player  at 


46  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

* 

base-ball.     Neutral,  a  person  who  belongs  to  no  society, 
especially  to  no  junior  society;  though  the  qualifying 
word  to  denote  in  what  year  he  was  a  neutral  is  usually 
prefixed  when   any  year  save  the  present  is   intended. 
Nobby,  stylish,  fashionable,  well-dressed.      Applied  to 
young  men  only.      Owl,  to  prolong  an  evening  call  until 
a  late  hour  is  to  owl  the  person  called  upon.     Pack,  to 
organize   or   to  Join   with  "  a  crowd,"   with   a  view  of 
securing  some    desired    honor,   especially  a    senior-so 
ciety  election.     1'he  crowd  thus  made  up  is  itself  called 
a  pack.     Peeler,  a  city  policeman.      Pick-up,   a  street 
walker,  of  the  less  disreputable  sort.     Pill,  a  silly,  dis 
agreeable  fellow ;  a  prig  ;  a  scrub.     Recently  the  word 
has  been  used  as  a  verb,  in  the  sense  of  dress,  and  to 
pill  up  signifies  to  put  on  one's  good  clothes,  to  fix  up,  to 
rig  out.     Pledge,  to  bind  a  man  to  join  a  society,  and 
promise  him  an  election  to  it.     Plug,  a  silk  hat,  of  the 
stove-pipe  or  chimney-pot  order.     Also   called   beaver, 
tile  and  roof.     Pony,  a  translation  of  a  classic  text.     As 
a  verb,  to  make  use  of  such  translations  in  reading  out  a 
lesson.  Poppycock,  a  silly  pretence,  foolishness,  nonsense. 
Poster,  a  representation  of  a  society's  emblems,  displayed 
in  a  room  to  indicate   the  connections  of  its  occupant. 
Also,  any  sort  of  printed  handbill.     "/X'J  abbreviation 
of  " Pot-Pourri"  the  annual  society  catalogue  and  col 
lege  directory.     Prex,  the  president.     Prof,  abbreviation 
for  professor.     Rag,  to  overcome  and  entirely  use  up  an 
opponent  or  rival.     Reckless,  superlatively  fine,  in  the 
very  extreme  of  fashion.    Red  hot,  excellent,  perfect,  mag 
nificent.     Sometimes  abbreviated  to  hot,  and  usually  used 
with  some   tinge   of  sarcasm.     Roomer,  a  word  used  by 
landladies  to  designate  a  lodger  or  occupant  of  a  room 
who   takes  his  meals   elsewhere.     Roots,  tricks.     Used 
only  in  the   phrase,  to  "come  the  roots  over"  a  person, 
that  is,  to  get  the  better  of  him  by  some  trick  or  deceit. 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  47 

Rope  in,  to  join  one's  self  to  a  set  or  party  uninvited,  to 
attach  any  one  to  the  same  unceremoniously  or  without 
his  consent.  Rum,  good,  excellent,  bully.  Run,  to 
direct,  conduct,  manage.  Also  to  chaff,  make  sport  of. 
Also  to  stand  as  a  candidate  for  office.  To  run  with  sig 
nifies  to  keep  the  company  of,  to  become  identified  with. 
Rush,  a  perfect  recitation.  Also  a  pushing,  scrambling 
street-fight  between  two  classes,  or  rather  a  trial  of  their 
strength  in  shoving  through  and  breaking  up  each 
other's  ranks.  Used  as  a  verb,  chiefly  in  the  former 
sense.  Russellite,  a  member  of  Gen.  Russell's  military 
school.  Rusticate,  to  suspend  a  man  from  college  exer 
cises  ;  because  during  the  period  of  his  suspension  he 
is  supposed  to  stay  in  the  country,  cramming  in  private. 
Scientif,  a  student  in  the  Scientific  School.  Scrub,  a 
poorly  dressed,  badly  appearing,  socially  disagreeable 
man.  Seed,  is  used  with  about  the  same  meaning,  though 
more  nearly  equivalent  to  pill.  Senior  (sometimes  ab 
breviated  to  Sen  or  Sene  by  the  necessities  of  verse),  a 
collegian  in  his  fourth  year.  Shad-eater  (or  simply 
sJiad),  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  Shake  up, 
to  make  haste.  To  "  shake  up  a  song,"  or  "  a  tune,"  is 
to  sing  ;  and  the  imperative,  shake  it  up  !  signifies,  wide 
awake,  there  !  bestir  yourself!  Shebang,  rooms,  place 
of  abode.  Also  a  theatrical  or  other  entertainment  in 
a  public  hall.  Sheepskin,  the  college  diploma,  or  A.B. 
degree.  Shekels,  money.  Shenannigan,  chaff,  foolery, 
nonsense;  especially  when  advanced  to  cover  some 
scheme  or  little  game.  Sick,  bad,  inferior,  disgusting, 
contemptible.  Sing,  an  informal  concert,  a  singing  of 
college  songs.  Sit  on,  to  silence,  thwart,  crush,  anni 
hilate.  Skin,  to  use  unfair  means  for  gaining  knowledge 
in  recitation  or  examination.  Slathers,  an  abundance, 
quantities,  lots.  Sleep  over,  to  arise  from  bed  too  late 
for  a  college  exercise.  Sling,  to  put  on,  exhibit,  display. 


48  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

Smear,  food,  hash,  grub ;  especially  a  society  spread  or 
supper.  This  word  was  introduced  by  '69,  and  has  been 
very  popular  in  later  classes.  '  It  is  sometimes  also 
used  as  a  verb.  Snabby  or  snab,  stylish,  tasteful,  good 
looking  (applied  chiefly  to  young  women,  who  thence 
themselves  come  to  be  referred  to  as  the  snab).  Also, 
good,  perfect,  excellent.  Soft  thing,  an  easy  place,  a 
pleasant  position,  a  sure  chance.  To  have  a  soft  thing 
on,  or  the  dead  wood  on,  any  object,  is  to  hold  the  "  in 
side  track,"  the  best  opportunity  for  gaining  it.  Softy, 
spooney,  and  spoops  or  spoopsey,  are  all  used  as  synonyms 
for  a  silly,  insignificant  fellow.  Sophomore  (often  abbre 
viated  to  Soph),  a  collegian  in  his  second  year.  Sour  on, 
to  become  disgusted  with,  turn  one's  back  upon,  repu 
diate.  Spoon  Man,  the  recipient  of  the  Wooden  Spoon. 
Sport  the  oak,  to  keep  one's  door  locked  against  visitors. 
An  English  term  of  recent  introduction.  Spread,  an 
informal  supper  or  treat,  especially  if  given  to  upper- 
class  men.  Stand,  rank  in  scholarship.  Stick,  a  loutish 
fellow,  a  pill.  As  a  verb,  the  word  signifies  to  secure 
the  pledge  of  a  man's  money  or  services  in  support  of 
objects  to  which  he  really  does  not  wish  to  give  them. 
Stones  man,  a  senior-society  neutral.  Stoughton-bottle,  a 
thick-headed,  blundering  fellow;  a  stick  ;  a  pill.  Sub, 
a  sub-division  at  examination  time.  Sub-Freshman,  a 
prospective  collegian  during  the  last  year  of  his  prepar 
atory  course.  Supe,  a  toady,  a  boot-licker.  Used  also 
as  a  verb.  Sweep,  a  servant  who  takes  care  of  the  dor 
mitories.  Swing  out,  to  display  any  personal  adorn 
ment,  especially  a  society  badge,  for  the  first  time.  The- 
ologiic,  a  theological  student.  Thin,  transparent.  A 
sell  or  joke  whose  point  is  suspected  or  seen  in  advance 
is  said  to  be  too  thin.  Townscnd,  the  name  of  a  high 
literary  prize.  Tawny,  a  resident  of  the  city,  especially 
a  young  man  who  might  be  mistaken  for  a  collegian. 


HISTORICAL  AND  EXPLANATORY.  49 

Triennial,  the  triennial  catalogue  of  graduates.  Also 
the  triennial  class-meeting.  Also  the  triennial  class 
record.  Tide,  abbreviation  for  tutor.  Not  common. 
University,  the  picked  boat-crew  of  six  who  row  against 
Harvard.  Also  the  picked  base-ball  nine.  Wharf  rat, 
a  young  waterside  Arab.  Wooden  man,  an  impassive, 
methodical,  cold-blooded  fellow  ;  a  stick  ;  a  Stoughton- 
bottle.  Wooden  Spoon,  the  prize  conferred  at  the  end 
of  junior  year  upon  "  the  most  popular  man  in  the  class." 
Wood  up,  to  rap  with  the  knuckles,  in  mock  approba 
tion  of  a  recitation-room  joke.  Woolsey,  the  name  of 
the  first  freshman  scholarship.  Worst,  latest,  newest. 
A  general  sarcastic  superlative,  made  popular  by  '71. 
Anything,  from  a  new  hat  to  a  society  election  or  long 
lesson,  is  called  the  worst  yet,  the  very  worst,  or  the 
worst  we've  seen.  Yalensian,  a  Yale  man.  Used  also 
as  an  adjective.  This  word,  though  much  affected  by 
college  writers  and  often  seen  in  print,  is  never  heard  of 
in  conversation,  and  has  not  been  employed  in  the 
present  work. 

The  following  publications — comprising  all  the  im 
portant  works  relating  to  the  subject — have  been  of  use 
in  the  preparation  of  this  book,  and  their  perusal  is 
recommended  to  all  those  who  are  interested  in  the  his 
tory  and  present  condition  of  the  college.  New  Haven 
is  the  place  of  publication,  when  not  otherwise  specified. 
President  Clap's  "Annals  of  Yale  College";  161110, 
pp.  124;  printed  by  Hotchkiss  &  Mecom,  1766.  Bald 
win's  "Annals  of  Yale  College";  Svo,  pp.  214;  Hez- 
ekiah  Howe,  1831  :  second  edition,  pp.  343  ;  B.  &  W. 
Noyes,  1838.  "  Sketches  of  Yale  College,"  by  a  mem 
ber  of  that  institution  [E.  P.  Belden  of  '44] ;  i6mo,  pp. 
192  ;  New  York:  Saxton  &  Miles,  1843  ;  "embellished 
with  more  than  thirty  engravings."  "  Reminiscences  of 

4 


5°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Scenes  and  Characters  in  College,"  by  a  graduate  of 
'21  [Rev.  John  Mitchell];  i2mo,  pp.  229;  A.  H. 
Maltby,  1847  ;  stereotyped  by  J.  H.  Benham.  Professor 
Kingsley's  "  Historical  Sketch,"  8vo,  pp.  48  ;  Boston  : 
Perkins,  Marvin  &  Co.,  1836  [reprinted  from  the  Amer 
ican  Quarterly  Register}.  President  Woolsey's  "Histor 
ical  Discourse";  8vo,  pp.  128;  printed  by  B.  L.  Ham- 
len,  1850.  B.  H.  Hall's  "  College  Words  and  Customs"  ; 
i2mo,  pp.  508  ;  Cambridge  :  John  Bartlett,  1856.  A  very 
Allyn's  "Ritual  of  Freemasonry";  121110,  pp.  302; 
Boston:  John  Marsh  &  Co.,  1831.  Professor  Porter's 
"American  Colleges  and  the  American  Public";  i2mo, 
pp.  285  ;  C.  C.  Chatfield  &  Co.,  1870.  Garretson's 
"  Carmina  Yalensia"  ;  8vo,  pp.  88  ;  New  York :  Taintor 
Bros.,  1867.  Elliot's  "  Songs  of  Yale"  ;  12 mo,  pp.  126  ; 
C.  C.  Chatfield  &  Co.,  1870.  Waite's  "Carmina  Col- 
legensia";  8vo,  pp.  254;  Boston:  O.  Ditson  &  Co., 
1868.  "Yale  Literary  Magazine,"  monthly,  1836-71. 
"  Yale  Banner,"  annual,  1841-70.  "  College  Courant," 
weekly,  1865-71.  "  New  Englander,"  quarterly,  1843- 
71.  "American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,"  semi 
annual,  quarterly,  bi-monthly,  monthly,  1818-71.  "  Uni 
versity  Quarterly,"  1860-61. 


PART  FIRST. 
THE    SOCIETY    SYSTEM 


CHAPTER  I. 
F  R  E  S  II  M  A  X     S  (.)  C  1  K  T  IKS. 

Development  of  the  Modern  System  —  Kappa  Sigma  Epsilon — • 
Delta  Kappa— Gamma  Xu— Sigma  Delta— Election  of  Active- 
and  Honorary  Members— Catalogues— The  Outside  Chapters' 
and  Statistics  of  Membership  —  The  Society  System  in  Other' 
Colleges— Badge  Pins  and  Mottoes— Halls  and  Mode  of  Renting  • 
Them  — Electioneering—  Initiation  —  Suppers— Interference  of- 
Upper-class  Men—Farewell  Ceremonies  of  the  Sophomores —  . 
Meetings  and  Exercises — "  Peanut  Bums"— Treatment  of  Intru-  • 
ders— Officers  and  the  Campaign  Election — Coalitions — System  . 
of  Electioneering — Initiation  Committees'  Supper — Expenses  of- 
Membership  —  Society  Zeal  and  its  Gradual  Decline — Signifi 
cance  of  Prize  Lists — Notable  Members— Comparisons  of  the  ' 
Societies— Anomalous  Position  of  Gamma  Nu— Initiation  Fa-  • 
bles  and  their  Origin— Theory  of  the  Supper  Business— Advice 
to  sub- Freshmen. 

The  secret-society  system  has  come  to  be  so  impor 
tant  a  part  of  undergraduate  life  at  Yale,  that»  for  a  just 
comprehension  of  the  latter,  a  full  understanding  of  the 
former  is  an  essential  prerequisite.  The  sub-Freshman 
is  pledged  to  his  society  months  before  he  approaches 
the  college  walls,  and  the  graduate  keeps  up  his  senior- 
year  connections  long  after  he  has  left  those  walls  be 
hind  him.  The  present  system  is  a  comparatively  new 


5 2  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

one,  dating  back  its  establishment  but  little  more  than 
a  generation,  yet  it  is  easy  to  see  in  it  the  natural  out 
growth  of  the  scheme  which  preceded  it.     This  may 
be  said  to  have  originated  in  1753,  with  the  establish 
ment  of  "  Linonia,"  an  open  society,  shared  in  by  all 
classes  of  undergraduates,  and  at  present  the  oldest 
institution  of  the  kind  existing    in  this  or  any  other 
American  college.     Fifteen  years  later,  a  secession  from 
Linonia  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  another  similar 
society  called  the  "Brothers  in  Unity."     In  1780,  was 
founded  the  Connecticut  Alpha  of  "  Phi  Beta  Kappa," 
a  secret  society,  confining  its  membership  to  the  senior 
class.     In  1821,  came  "Chi  Delta  Theta,"  secret,  in  the 
senior  and  junior  classes.     All  of  these  societies,  though 
greatly  changed  as  to  their  scope  and  object,  are  still 
extant,  and  will  be  described  at  length  hereafter.     In 
their  original  form  they  have  been  gradually  superseded 
by  the  modern  system,  which  began  in    1832  when  a 
strictly  senior  society  called   "Skull  and    Bones"  was 
established.     In  a  few  years  later  there  were  junior  so 
cieties,  then  sophomore,  and  in  1840  a  freshman  society 
ventured  to  appear ;  so  that  at  present  there  are  two  or 
more  secret  societies  in  each  of  the  four  academical 
classes.     The  "  order  of  development"  being  thus  traced 
out,— from  which  it  would  seem  likely  that  the  societies 
of  each  lower  class  were  modeled  to  a  certain  extent 
upon  those  in  the  class  above, —  the  different  societies 
may  be  described  in  the  order  in  which  the  undergrad 
uate  becomes  acquainted  with  them  :  it  being  premised 
that  those  of  the  three  lower  classes  resemble  Phi  Beta 
Kappa   in    being   "  Greek-letter  societies,"   that   is,   in 
taking  their  names  from  the  initial  letters  of  a  phrase 
in  Greek,  which  has  been  adopted  as  a  secret  motto  or 
watchword  of  the  society.     This  at  least  is  the  theory, 
though  in  practice  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  harmo- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  S3 

nious   combination   of  letters   is   first  selected  for   the 
name,  and  the  motto  afterwards  fitted  to  them. 

"  Kappa  Sigma  Epsilon,"  the  oldest  freshman  society, 
was  founded  in  July,  1840,  by  a  dozen  members  of  the 
class  of  '44,  of  whom  Senator  O.  S.  Ferry  of  Connec 
ticut  is  perhaps  as  welt  known  as  any.  A  like  number 
from  the  class  of  '49,  among  whom  was  Charles  G. 
Came  of  the  Boston  Journal,  established  "  Delta  Kappa" 
in  November,  1845  >  while  "Gamma  Nu,"  a  non-secret 
society,  was  started  about  ten  years  later  by  nine  mem 
bers  of  the  class  of  '59,  including  Prof.  A.  W.  Wright 
of  Williams  College  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Twichell  of  Hartford. 
There  was  also  a  fourth  society,  called  "  Sigma  Delta," 
which  died  in  1860  at  the  age  of  eleven.  The  first  of 
these  is  always  spoken  of  as  "  Sigma  Eps" ;  the  second 
as  "Delta  Kap"  or  less  often  "D  K"  ;  the  third  is 
usually  named  in  full,  except  when  contemptuously  re 
ferred  to  as  "  Gammy."  At  the  outset,  Sigma  Eps, 
having  the  field  to  itself,  was  a  select  society,  restricting 
its  membership  to  about  twenty,  picked  during  the  first 
term  from  each  successive  freshman  class.  Delta  Kap 
also  partly  maintained  this  character  for  a  year  or  two, 
but  the  rivalry  between  the  two  societies  for  the  posses 
sion  of  the  "  best  men"  soon  became  so  great  as  virtu 
ally  to  do  away  with  the  plan  of  individual  election,  and 
the  practice,  now  in  vogue,  was  introduced,  whereby 
each  society  endeavors  to  gain  the  largest  number  of 
members,  —  irrespective  of  merit  or  want  of  it  on  their 
part, —  and  the  one  which  succeeds  is  said  to  "  win  the 
campaign"  of  the  year.  The  victory  always  lies  between 
Sigma  Eps  and  Delta  Kap,  which  in  a  class,  say,  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Freshmen,  usually  secure  about  sixty 
each,  while  Gamma  Nu  has  to  be  content  with  half  that 
number.  Delta  Kap  has  now  won  five  out  of  six  suc 
cessive  campaigns,  and  its  last  two  victories  have  been 


54  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALK. 

quite  decisive  ones.     In  the  elass  of  '73  Delta  Kap  had 
88  members,  Sigma  Eps  36,  and   Gamma  Nu  30;  and 
in  the  class  of  '74  the   corresponding  figures  were   72, 
49  and  29.     Though  the  form  of  a  unanimous  election 
is  gone  through  with,  and  a  single  negative  vote  is  suffi 
cient  to   reject,  no  Freshman  ever  is  rejected  by  these 
societies,  and  ever)'-  Freshman  is  expected  to  join  one  of 
them.     Thus  it  happens  that  a  "  neutral"  or  non-society 
Freshman  is  of  late  years  very  rarely  heard  of.     Men 
who  enter  college  after  freshman  year  are  usually  secured 
as  honorary  members  of  these  societies,  and  figure  in 
the  catalogues  and  prize  lists  the  same  as  regular  active 
members.    Occasionally,  when  such  a  late-entered  upper- 
class  man  has  distinguished  himself  in  some  way,  two 
or  more  societies  make  efforts  to  obtain  him  ;  but  as  a 
rule  there  is  little  rivalry  in  this  respect.     It  sometimes 
happens,  on  the  other  hand,  though  not  often,  that  an 
upper-class   man   who    attempts   to  gain  admission   to 
these  societies  is  rejected.     It  has  been  customary,  fur 
thermore,  to  elect  as  honorary  members  some  of  those 
who  were   freshman   neutrals  in  the  early  years  when 
the   societies  were   select,  and  who  afterwards  in  col 
lege  or  elsewhere  distinguished  themselves.     Generally, 
though  not  always,  their  consent  was  obtained  before 
hand,  but  they  were  seldom  initiated,  as  are   the  hon 
orary  members  from  the  upper  classes  in  college.     Nev 
ertheless  their   names   usually  appear  undistinguished 
from  the  others  in  the  catalogues,  and  it  hence  becomes 
difficult  to  discover  therefrom   the  number  of  regular 
active   members   of   these    societies   in   all   the   earlier 
classes.     A  very  few  honorary  members  are  also  elected 
who  are  indicated  as  such  in  the  catalogues,  because  of 
their  never  having  been  connected  either  with  any  class 
represented  in  the  society,  or  even  with  the  college  itself. 
Such  members  are  ranked  with  the  class  which  elected 
them. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  55 

These  catalogues  are  published  every  five  or  six 
years  ;  the  last  one  of  Sigma  Eps  being  put  forth  in 
the  summer  of  1865  by  the  class  of  '68.  This  is  an 
octavo  pamphlet  of  sixty-four  pages,  embellished  on  the 
outside  with  the  society  emblem,  and  contains  the  full 
names  and  residences  of  the  members,  arranged  in 
classes,  with  an  alphabetical  index  at  the  end.  A  "  ref 
erence  table"  at  the  beginning  explains  the  meaning  of 
the  Greek-letter  symbols  attached  to  many  of  the  names. 
These  signify  the  various  college  "  prizes,"  "  honors," 
and  "offices,"  gained  by  particular  members.  Sigma 
Eps  at  Yale,  calling  itself  the  "  Kappa"  chapter,  estab- 
tablished  a  branch  "  Alpha"  chapter  at  Amherst,  which 
ran  through  the  four  classes  from  '53  to  '57,  and  died 
with  a  total  membership  of  thirty-two.  The  "  Delta" 
chapter  at  the  Troy  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute, 
was  started  with  a  dozen  men  in  1864,  an(i  lasted  a  little 
more  than  a  year.  The  "  Sigma"  chapter,  founded  at 
Dartmouth  in  the  class  of  '57,  and  numbering  in  its  first 
ten  years  some  two  hundred  members,  still  exists  in  a 
flourishing  condition.  According  to  the  catalogue  al 
luded  to,  the  total  membership  of  the  society  at  Yale  in 
twenty-five  classes  was  ion,  and  of  all  the  chapters 
combined  at  that  date,  1260.  Delta  Kap  has  had  six 
branches  outside  of  Yale,  two  of  which  survive. 
Calling  itself  the  "Alpha"  chapter,  it  named  the  others, 
in  the  order  of  their  establishment,  from  the  successive 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet.  According  to  the  last 
catalogue,  published  at  Yale  in  1866  by  the  class  of 
'69,  the  "  Gamma"  chapter  of  Amherst,  begun  in  the 
class  of  '52,  showed  a  membership  of  403,  the  "Zeta" 
chapter  of  Dartmouth,  begun  in  the  class  of  '64,  a  mem 
bership  of  151,  which  with  Yale's  997  members  in 
twenty-one  classes,  gave  a  total  of  1553,  or  about  two 
hundred  more  than  Sigma  Eps  at  that  time,-  -allowance 


56  FOUR    YEARS  AT    YALE. 

being  made  for  a  hundred  increase  in  the  Jailer's  figures 
of  the  year  before.     The  "  Eta*'  chapter  was  established 
at   Center  College,  Danville,  Ky.,  in   1867.     The  war 
broke   up   three  southern  chapters,  and   destroyed   all 
record  of  their  membership.     These  were :  the  "  Beta," 
started    at   the    North    Carolina   University,  in    1850; 
the  "Delta"  at  the  Virginia  University,  in   1851;  and 
the  "  Epsilon"  at  the  Mississippi  University,  in   1853. 
The  Gamma  chapter  of  Amherst  died  in  the  fall  of  1870, 
the  faculty  forbidding  the  class  of  '74  to  be  initiated. 
Gamma   Nu  has    never   published   any  catalogue,  but 
from  the  lists  printed  in  the  Yale  Banner,  its  first  ten 
classes  appear  to  number  296  members  in  all,  40  being 
the  largest  number  belonging  to  any  single  class  (that 
of  '63).      A  society  of  the  same  name  and  character 
was  established  at  Brown  University  eight  or  ten  years 
ago,  and  in  1864  some  attempt  was  made  to  bring  about 
a  formal  connection  between  the  two,  but  nothing  re 
sulted  and  the  societies  are  quite  independent  of  each 
other.     In  August,  1854,  the   Sigma   Delta  men  of  '57 
issued  a  catalogue  of  their  society,  comprising  twenty- 
two  pages  and  a  steel-plate  frontispiece  of  the  society 
badge,  with  which  was  connected  the  motto,  Ingenium 
laboreperfedum.     In  college  esteem  the  society  occupied 
a  position  not  unlike   that  since  held  by  Gamma  Nu. 
After  its  disruption  many  of   its  upper-class  members 
were   elected   into   the    other  two    freshman    societies. 
Sigma  Delta  had  chapters  at  New  York  University  and 
Amherst,  the  latter  of  which  died  but  two  years  ago.    The 
very  general  failure  of  these  branch  chapters  is  chiefly 
due  to  the  different  society  systems  which  prevail  at 
most  of  the  other  colleges.     There,  "  the  junior  socie 
ties,"  as  Yale  men  call  them,  are  composed  of  members 
of  all  the  four  classes,  and  a  man's  active  connection 
with  his  society  continues  till  the  day  he  graduates. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  57 

Hence,  the  most  .desirable  Freshmen  being  "  picked  " 
by  "  the  junior  societies"  very  early  in  the  course,  have 
little  to  gain  in  joining  a  distinctively  freshman  society 
also,  and,  if  they  do  join  it,  their  interest  in  the  more 
worthy  organization  naturally  tends  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  other.  At  Dartmouth,  however,  as  "  the  junior 
societies"  elect  no  members  before  sophomore  year, 
Sigma  Eps  and  Delta  Kap  have  the  freshman  field  all 
to  themselves,  and  are  able  to  maintain  a  creditable 
existence.  The  tie  which  binds  the  different  chapters 
together  is  a  very  slight  one,  as  the  active  membership 
lasts  only  a  year,  —  a  year  in  which  individual  visits  be 
tween  different  colleges  are  least  likely  to  happen, — and 
a  man's  zeal  in  the  cause  is  seldom  prolonged  beyond 
this.  The  occasional  interchange  of  compliments  by 
the  corresponding  secretaries,  the  transaction  of  a  little 
common  business,  the  entertainment  of  a  very  rare  vis 
itor,  these  comprise  the  sum  of  the  relations  between 
the  chapters. 

The  badge  pins  worn  by  all  the  members  constitute 
one  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  these  societies. 
That  of  Sigma  Eps  somewhat  resembles  a  Greek  cross, 
except  that  there  are  five  bars  instead  of  four,  between 
each  of  which  comes  the  point  of  a  star,  the  center  con 
sisting  of  a  shield  of  black  enamel,  bearing  the  letters 
"  K  Z  E  "  and  "  Yale."  This  last  gives  place  to 
"  Dart "  for  the  Dartmouth  chapter,  and  to  correspond 
ing  changes  for  other  colleges.  Aside  from  the  black 
shield,  there  is  no  relief  to  the  gold  surface  of  the  rest 
of  the  pin,  which,  as  to  size,  is  perhaps  an  inch  in  diam 
eter.  A  fasces,  a  caduceus,  an  anchor,  a  torch,  and  an 
olive-branch  are  the  emblems  engraved  upon  the  five 
projecting  bars.  The  original  badge  of  this  society,  in 
use  for  ten  years  or  more,  was  a  golden  anchor,  twined 
about  by  the  two  serpents  and  surmounted  by  the  winged 
4* 


58  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

hat  of  Mercury.    The  motto,  Sczpe  agenda  bene  agere  discere, 
is  generally  found  in  connection  with  Sigma  Eps  cuts 
and  posters.     The  Delta  Kap  pin  is  a  crescent,  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  of  black  enamel  edged 
with    roughened   gold,  having   in   its   broadest   part   a 
white  shield,  whereon  lie  a  crossed  dagger  and  key,  a 
star  in  either  horn,  and  below  them  the  symbols  "J" 
and  "A'."     This  is  considered  the  handsomest  badge  at 
Yale.     It  was  formerly  of  plain  gold,  with  three  small 
crescents  engraved  upon  the  shield,  in  place  of  the  dag 
ger  and  key.     Semper  cresccns,  is  the  open  motto  of  this 
society.      The   badge  of  Gamma   Nu,   in   size   a  trifle 
smaller  than  the  above,  consists  of  a  five-pointed  star 
bearing  the  symbols  "  F  Ar,"  surrounded  by  a  circular 
band,  with  a  wreath  ornament  upon  the  lower  part,  and 
"  Yale  "  inscribed  upon  a  scroll  above  ;  the  body  of  the 
pin  being  gold,  the  inscriptions  and  scroll  work  of  black 
enamel.     Its  original  badge,  in  use  up  to  1862,  was  in 
the  shape  of  a  book,  upon  the  cover  of  which  figured 
an  open  hand,  with  the  letters  "T"  "AA"  at  the  sides, 
"J-ijfas"  above,  and  "Yale"  below.     The  motto  of  the 
society  is  Jfiuj  y.al  udsiffixuf  «0/.or/i£r,  and  its  name  in 
full  is  FvuriMinv  Now.     The  last  badge  of  Sigma  Delta 
was  diamond  shaped,  and  represented  a  book  labeled 
"  Yale,"  surmounted   by  a  coronet.     An  upright  oval, 
wherein  a  star  cast  its  rays  upon  an  enwreathed  "  -T  J," 
was  the   pattern   previously  employed.     These   badges 
are  worn  constantly,  from  the  time  a  member  is  initiated 
until  the  society  is  given  over  to  the  succeeding  class. 
The  usual  position  is  the  left  side  of  the  vest,  at  the 
collar  or  near  the  watch-chain,  though  the  pin  is  some 
times  attached  to  the  neck-tie  or  shirt-bosom,  and  once 
in  a  while  a  Freshman  is  seen  displaying  his  badge  up 
on  the  outer  collar  of  his  coat, — a  practice  not  at  all 
uncommon  at  other  colleges.     A  small  gold  letter  in- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM,  59 

dicative  of  the  chapter,— "X"  for  Sigma  Eps,  "A"  for 
Delta  Kap, — connected  to  the  main  badge  by  a  chain, 
is  often  to  be  noticed  upon  a  Freshman's  waistcoat. 
Their  note-paper  and  envelopes  are  also  embellished 
with  the  society  insignia,  in  gold  or  colors  ;  and  the 
same  in  the  form  of  elaborate  steel-plate  or  lithographic 
"  posters,"  often  handsomely  framed,  are  displayed  upon 
the  walls  of  their  rooms — where  they  are  apt  to  hang 
undisturbed  until  graduation  day  itself. 

The  halls  of  the  lower-class  college  societies  are  in 
the  upper  stories  of  buildings  in  different  parts  of  the 
town,  rented  of  their  owners  for  the  purpose,  at  an 
annual  cost  of  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  A  graduate  member  or 
other  responsible  person  is  persuaded  to  take  out  a 
two  or  three  years'  lease  of  a  hall  for  a  society,  and  so 
long  as  he  is  responsible  the  society  is  generally  hon 
orable  enough  to  pay  the  rents  promptly,  and  give  him  no 
trouble  in  the  matter.  By  the  time  the  lease  has  expired 
the  society  has  become  pretty  well  established  in  its 
hall,  cannot  easily  be  ejected  without  actual  violence, 
which  the  owner  or  agent  does  not  like  to  evoke,  for 
fear  of  incurring  ill  will,  and  often  keeps  possession  of  its 
hall  for  many  years  without  lease  or  written  agreement  of 
any  kind  with  its  owner.  It  usually  pays  its  rent  with 
tolerable  regularity,  and  in  cases  when  it  does  get  two 
or  three  quarters  behind  hand,  a  little  judicious  threat 
ening  and  a  few  hints  at  ejectment  are  apt  to  bring 
about  an  early  settlement ;  so  that  real-estate  holders 
seldom  lose  money  in  these  transactions.  Yet  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  "  strict  business  men"  thus  entrust 
to  irresponsible  "societies" — endowed  with  no  legal 
existence  as  such,  composed  of  careless  college  boys, 
who  are  not  individually  liable  for  society  debts  —  con 
siderable  sums  of  money,  well  knowing  that  the  only 


60  FOUR    YEARS  AT  K//.A. 

security  for  its  payment  lies  in  so  intangible  a  thing  as 
traditional  society  integrity.     The  three  freshman  halls 
are  situated  on  Chapel  street,  the  main  thoroughfare  of 
the  city  ;  that  of  Sigma  Eps  being  in  Collins  Building, 
a  short  distance  below  State  street,  and  distant  half  a 
mile  from  the  colleges  ;  that  of  Delta  Kap  being  at  No. 
334,   near   Church    street,  half   as    far   away;    that  of 
Gamma  Nu  being  in  Lyon  Building,  midway  between 
the  other  two.     Sigma  Eps  for  many  years  occupied  a 
hall  in  Brewster  Building,  southeast  corner  of  State  and 
Chapel  streets,  and  close  beside  the  railway  station,  and 
moved  into  its  present  abode  in  the  fall  of  1870  ;  Delta 
Kap  spent  eighteen  years  in  Austin  Building,  opposite 
its  present  quarters,  which  it  took  possession  of  in  1864  ; 
and  Gamma  Nu,  after  subsisting  in  the  college  recitation 
rooms  and  elsewhere,  became  established  where  it  now 
is  in  1863.     Its  hall  is  commodious  and  well  furnished, 
but,  though  more  attractive  than  the  old  hall  of  Sigma 
Eps,  is  inferior  in  size  and  elegance  to  the  halls  now 
possessed  by  the  other  two  societies.      Each  of  these 
contains  a  stage  for  theatrical  purposes,  though  Delta 
Kap  is  the  only  freshman  hall  whose  entrance  is  guarded 
with  double  doors  of  iron. 

When  "the  candidate  for  admission  to  the  freshman 
class  in  Yale  College  "  draws  near  to  New  Haven,  for 
the  purpose  of  attending  the  dread  entrance  examina 
tion,  he  is  usually  accosted  with  the  utmost  politeness 
by  a  jaunty  young  gentleman,  resplendent  with  mystic 
insignia,  who,  after  some  introductory  commonplaces, 
"  presumes  he  may  be  intending  to  enter  Yale  ?"  "  Yes." 
"  Perhaps  he  has  heard  of  some  remarkable  societies 
existing  in  that  neighborhood  ?"  If  he  has,  and  says 
at  once  that  he's  "pledged  "  to  this  or  that  society,  our 
affable  friend  congratulates  him  on  the  wisdom  of  his 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  6 1 

choice,  if  it  be  his  society,  or  quickly  turns  the  subject 
if  it  happens  to  be  its  opponent,  and  in  either  case  soon 
bids  him  good  day.  But  if  he  wants  information  on  the 
subject,  the  jaunty  young  gentleman  is  most  happy  to 
supply  it.  "  He  chances  to  have  in  his  pocket  a  prize 
list,  recently  published  by  the  college  authorities,  which 
shows  exactly  how  the  thing  now  stands."  This  list  of 
course  places  one  society  far  ahead  of  the  rest  in  the 
matter  of  "  honors,"  and  other  desirable  things  ;  which 
society  our  friend  at  length  confesses  he  had  the  honor 
of  belonging  to  last  year,  and  thinks  he  has  still  enough 
influence  there  to  secure  the  unanimous  election  of  his 
new  acquaintance,  if  he  decides  to  work  for  it.  "  Will 
he  pledge  to  accept  the  election,  in  case  he  is  so  lucky 
as  to  get  it  for  him  ?"  Perhaps  the  sub-Freshman  says 
Yes,  forthwith.  More  likely,  he  "  wants  to  think  about 
it,"  and  would  rather  "  wait  till  he  gets  to  the  city,  and 
looks  around  for  himself,  a  little."  But  no,  that  would 
be  useless.  His  time  will  then  be  taken  up  with  other 
things.  Besides,  this  list  contains  all  the  facts.  Hasn't 
President  Woolsey  authorized  it?  Presume  his  word 
isn't  doubted  ?  Oh,  dear,  no  !  Well,  the  whole  ground 
is  gone  over,  and  some  sort  of  a  pledge  is  at  last  ex 
acted.  "  If  you  won't  pledge  to  Sigma  Eps,  you'll  at 
least  promise  not  to  go  to  Gamma  Nu  ?"  Yes,  sub- 
Fresh  will  promise  that.  "  And  you  won't  pledge  to 
Delta  Kap  till  you  talk  with  me  again  ?"  "  No."  And 
so  they  part.  This  is  supposed  to  happen  before  the 
train  or  boat  reaches  the  station  or  landing.  By  that 
time  our  Sigma  Eps  partisan — for  as  such  we  now  rec 
ognize  him  —  is  in  the  midst  of  his  argument  with 
another  "  candidate."  They  are  just  preparing  to  alight, 
when  other  Sigma  Eps  men  surround  them.  At  a  sign 
from  the  first,  one  takes  his  valise,  another  his  umbrella, 
a  third  his  bundle.  "This  way  if  you  please,  Mr. ." 


62  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

And  before  the  sub-Fresh  has  time  to  protest,  he  is  roll 
ing  along  in  a  hack,  and  his  new  found  friends  are  en 
quiring  the  number  of  his  boarding  house,  or  the  name 
of  the  hotel  he  wishes  to  go  to  ?     Very  likely  they  treat 
him  to  dinner  or  supper,  but  at  any  rate  they  are  very 
attentive   to  his  wants  and  do  not  leave  him  until  he  is 
"  pledged."     Sometimes  the  transfer  to  the  hack  is  not 
so  easily  accomplished,  for  the  runners  of  another  so 
ciety  may  scent  the  prey,  rush  for  it,  and  bear  it  off  in 
triumph.     There  are  plenty  of  representatives  from  all 
three   societies  hanging  about  the  railroad  station  on 
the   arrival   of  the  important  trains,  and  rarely  does  a 
sub-Freshman  run  the  gauntlet  of  their  eyes  without  de 
tection.     They  jump  upon  the  platforms  of  the  moving 
cars,   they   fight   the    brakemen,  they  incommode    the 
travelers,  they  defy  the  policemen,— but  they  will  offer 
the  advantages  of  "  the  best  freshman  society"  to  every 
individual  "candidate."     And  they  do.     "Pledged  "is 
the  magic  word,  and  the  only  one,  that  secures  the  new 
comer  an  immunity  from  their  attentions.      Amusing 
mistakes  often  happen  in  these  contests.     A  quiet  Sen 
ior,  or  resident  graduate,  mistaken  by  a  society  runner 
for   a    sub-Freshman,   may  "play    off  verdant,"  allow 
himself  to  be  electioneered,  accept  a  free  ride  to  the 
hotel,  and  possibly  a  supper,  and  at  last,  carelessly  dis 
playing  a  senior-society  pin  upon  his  shirt-front,  inform 
his  terror  stricken  entertainers   that  he  "belonged  to 
Delta  Kap  about  four  years  ago,"  and  wish  them  a  very 
good  evening. 

Within  a  week  from  the  commencement  of  the  term, 
about  every  Freshman  has  been  pledged,  and  prepara 
tions  are  being  made  for  the  "  initiation."  The  term 
opens  on  Thursday,  and  the  traditional  time  of  initiation 
is  Friday  night  of  the  following  week.  As  the  darkness 
approaches,  the  discordant  blasts  of  tin  horns  and  the 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  63 

rattle  of  bangers  upon  the  pavement  admonish  the 
expectant  Freshmen  that  the  hour  of  their  trial  is  rapidly 
drawing  near.  Each  one  has  received  during  the  day  a 
black-edged  envelope,  covering  a  black-edged  card  or 
sheet  of  paper,  bearing  the  society  badge  and  this  fear 
ful  summons  :  "  Freshman  [or  "  Mr."]  So  and  So  :  You 
will  be  waited  upon  at  your  room  this  evening,  and  be 
presented  for  initiation  into  the  dark  and  awful  mys 
teries  of  the  -  -  fraternity.  Per  order."  The  half  of 
a  card  of  fantastic  design  and  peculiarly  notched  edge 
is  also  enclosed,  and  the  Freshman  is  instructed  to  sur 
render  himself  only  to  the  personage  who  presents  him 
with  the  other  half  of  that  particular  card,  which  will 
be  identified  by  the  "  matching"  of  the  edges, — no  two 
cards  of  the  many  given  out  having  been  notched  ex 
actly  alike.  Sometime  between  the  hours  of  seven  and 
ten  our  Freshman  is  called  for,  identifies  the  card  pre 
sented  to  him,  and  gives  himself  up  to  his  conductor, 
who  may  very  likely  have  a  companion,  wearing  a  mask, 
like  himself,  or  otherwise  disguised.  Perhaps  they  visit 
some  eating  house  where  the  Freshman  treats  to  an 
oyster  supper  ;  or  perhaps  he  promises  to  give  the 
supper  on  the  following  evening  ;  or  perhaps  he  doesn't 
care  to  treat  at  all.  Possibly  he  has  been  blindfolded 
from  the  time  he  left  his  room,  and  has  had  a  tin  horn 
blown  close  to  his  ear  occasionally,  on  the  way,  though 
this  is  unusual.  But  at  length  they  draw  near  some 
public  building,  from  within  which  proceed  sounds  as 
of  pandemonium  itself.  The  Freshman  is  blindfolded 
for  a  minute  or  two,  is  shoved  forward,  hears  a  door 
open  and  close  behind  him  with  a  bang,  and  opens  his 
eyes  to  find  himself  in  pitch  darkness.  However,  he 
at  once  perceives  that  he  is  not  alone,  but  in  the  midst 
of  other  Freshmen,  like  him  "waiting  their  turn."  The 
noise  meanwhile  seems  louder  and  louder,  and  when  an 


<H  FOUR   YEARS  AT 

inner  door  opens  and  a  name  is  called,  it  becomes  al 
most  deafening.  Soon  our  Fresh  is  wanted.  A  red 
devil  in  the  passage  way,  assisted  by  a  living  skeleton, 
redolent  of  phosphorus,  quickly  blindfolds  him,  and  he 
is  hurried  upward.  When  he  has  reached  an  elevation 
apparently  of  several  hundred  feet,  a  new  element  in 
the  continual  din  assures  him  that  he  is  at  last  in  the 
inquisitorial  hall.  But  just  as  he  begins  a  reply  to  the 
last  nonsensical  question  put  by  an  attendant  fiend, 
some  one  jostles  against  him,  and  down,  down,  down 
he  falls  until  he  strikes — a  blanket,  held  in  readiness 
for  him.  Then  up  he  flies  into  the  air  again,  amid  ad 
miring  shrieks  of  "  Go  it,  Freshie  !"  "  Well  done,  Sub !" 
"  Shake  him  up !"  until  a  new  candidate  demands  the 
attention  of  the  tossers.  Then  he  is  officiously  told  to 
rest  himself  in  a  chair,  the  seat  of  which  lets  him  into 
a  pail  of  water,  beneath,  though  a  large  sponge  probably 
saves  him  from  an  actual  wetting ;  his  head  and  hands 
are  thrust  through  a  pillory,  and  he  is  reviled  in  that 
awkward  position  ;  he  is  rolled  in  an  exaggerated  squir 
rel  wheel ;  a  noose  is  thrown  around  his  neck,  and  he 
is  dragged  beneath  the  guillotine,  when  the  bandage  is 
pulled  from  his  eyes,  and  he  glares  upon  the  glittering 
knife  of  block-tin,  which  falls  within  a  foot  of  his  throat, 
and  cannot  possibly  go  further.  Being  thus  executed, 
he  is  thrust  into  a  coffin,  which  is  hammered  upon  witli 
such  energy  that  he  is  at  length  recalled  to  life,  pulled 
out  again,  and  made  to  wear  his  coat  with  the  inside 
outwards.  This  is  the  sign  that  his  initiation  is  over, 
and  he  can  now  stand  by  and  enjoy  the  fun.  Ranging 
himself  with  the  turn-coated  classmates  whom  he  finds 
have  preceded  him,  he  looks  upon  a  motley  throng  of 
struggling  Sophomores,  arrayed  in  every  variety  of  hid 
eous  and  fantastic  disguise,  shouting,  screaming,  horn- 
blowing,  and  putting  the  Freshmen  through  the  various 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  J  :v  TE.  If.  6  5 

stages  of  the  ceremony,  which  in  his  own  case  has  just 
been  completed,  while  Juniors  and  Seniors  stand  by  as 
passive  spectators  of  the  sport.  A  lithographic  sketch 
by  W.  H.  Davenport,  for  a  time  in  the  class  of  '60,  gives 
a  very  correct  idea  of  this  grotesque  initiation  scene. 

Formerly,  Sigma  Eps  and  Delta  Kap  held  the  initi 
ation  in  common,  hiring  for  the  purpose  a  public  hall, 
and  admitting  to  the  show  a  select  number  of  visitors, 
not  connected  with  the  societies  or  with  college.  The 
doors  were  securely  guarded  by  policemen,  and  no  one 
without  society  badge  or  admission  ticket  could  pass 
the  entrance.  These  tickets  were  embellished  on  the 
one  side  with  some  terrific  representation  of  Freshmen 
seething  in  fiend-tended  cauldrons,  or  being  rended  in 
pieces  by  animate  skeletons,  or  undergoing  some  similar 
torture  ;  while  the  other  side  bore  the  badges  of  the 
two  societies,  inter-locked  or  else  connected  with  the 
clasped  hands,  and  the  names  of  the  sophomore  com 
mittee  men.  Though  no  longer  of  any  special  utility, 
these  cards  are  still  issued,  separately,  by  the  societies, 
and  bear  but  a  single  badge  and  committee,  though  the 
same  cut  is  employed  by  both.  This  cut  afterwards 
figures  in  the  Pot  Pourri,  in  connection  with  the  names 
of  both  committees.  At  these  quasi-public  initiations, 
more  elaborate  processes  could  be  gone  through  with 
than  those  already  described.  The  Freshmen  could 
be  raised  to  any  required  hight,  in  a  coffin-shaped  box, 
the  bottom  of  which  dropping  out  would  allow  him  to 
tumble  into  the  awaiting  blanket;  or  a  blank  charge 
from  two  or  three  muskets  could  be  fired  over  his  head 
at  the  instant  when  he  fell  through  a  trap  door  into  the 
inevitable  blanket  prepared  below  ;  or  the  same  trap 
could  .be  made  to  do  service  as  a  grave  into  which  his 
encofTmed  form  might  be  lowered  ;  or  he  could  be  given 
a  "  cradle  ride,"  in  a  vehicle,  much  like  a  reversed  hen- 


66  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

coop  mounted  on  wheels,  which  might  be  dragged 
swiftly  across  the  stage  over  the  rough  clumps  of  wood 
carefully  placed  in  its  way: — things  which  have  not  been 
possible  since  1865,  when  the  college  authorities  decreed 
that  each  society  must  initiate  in  its  own  hall,  in  the 
presence  of  no  one  but  its  own  members. 

Each  Sophomore  has  a  particular  Freshman  assigned 
to  him  for  initiation,  and  usually  selects  some  former 
friend  or  acquaintance,  or  a  man  whom  he  himself 
pledged,  or  one  whom  he  thinks  likely  to  u  treat"  liber 
ally,  or  in  lack  of  these  is  content  with  any  Freshman 
whatever.  As  the  Freshmen  usually  outnumber  the 
Sophomores,  a  few  of  the  former  are  assigned  to  Juniors, 
members  of  last  year's  initiation  committee  perhaps, 
who  are  very  glad  to  seize  the  opportunity  thus  offered 
for  a  possible  "  supper."  Bat  many  of  the  upper  class 
men — for  Seniors  as  well  as  Juniors  engage  in  the  dis 
graceful  business — who  have  no  Freshmen  assigned  to 
them,  seize  if  they  can  upon  those  allotted  to  others, 
and  get  from  them  a  supper.  Perhaps  two  or  three 
Freshmen  are  brought  together  in  a  college  room,  and 
put  through  a  mock  initiation :  made  to  box  or  fence 
with  one  another,  dance  blindfolded  on  a  table,  sing, 
answer  nonsensical  questions,  pass  a  mock  examination 
in  their  lessons  before  a  pretended  professor,  and  so  on  \ 
but  the  supper  is  the  main  thing,  after  all.  There  are 
always  many  Freshmen  absent  from  the  evening  recita 
tion  of  initiation  night — most  of  whom  are  keeping  close 
to  their  own  rooms  by  order  of  their  sophomore  owners, 
or  are  lying  secreted  in  the  rooms  pf  the  upper-class 
men  who  have  "  stolen"  them, — and  there  is  always  a 
scuffle  on  the  dismissal  of  that  recitation,  in  which  some 
Freshmen  are  "gobbled  up"  and  spirited  away.  Late 
in  the  evening  the  upper-class  men  present  themselves 
at  the  initiation  halls  with  their  charges,  and  attempt  to 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  67 

"  get  through"  the  latter  with  a  light  initiation  or  none 
at  all.  This  attempt  the  Sophomores  resist,  and  a 
fierce  commotion  ensues.  The  Freshman  is  dragged 
about  by  the  contending  parties,  and  perhaps  has  his 
clothes  torn  in  the  struggle.  If  the  Sophs  finally  get 
him,  he  is  put  through,  the  whole  extent  of  the  ceremony ; 
otherwise,  his  friends  get  his  coat  turned,  and  that  is 
the  end  of  it.  It  is  not  always  in  return  for  a  treat 
simply  that  this  is  done.  An  upper-class  man  or  even 
a  Sophomore,  may  have  a  brother  or  friend  vvhdm  he 
wishes  to  get  through,  or  the  mere  excitement  of  the 
thing  and  a  pure  love  of  mischief  may  furnish  the  only 
motives  for  the  action.  Spite  of  every  precaution 
against  it,  it  is  not  very  difficult  in  the  confusion  and 
hubbub  to  slide  a  Freshman  through  unnoticed,  and  it 
is  every  year  accomplished  in  many  cases.  But  when 
"  detected  in  the  act,"  the  guardians  of  the  Freshman 
are  usually  obliged  to  surrender  him  to  his  "rightful 
owners."  In  1866,  on  account  of  a  rumor  that  the  fac 
ulty  would  attempt  to  abolish  the  initiation  entirely, 
Delta  Kap  had  a  secret  one,  the  night  before  the  usual 
time,  in  which  none  but  the  Sophomores  participated. 
Since  then  both  societies,  by  varying  the,  nights  of  the 
ceremony  and  conducting  it  in  comparative  quiet,  have 
endeavored  to  keep  it  from  the  knowledge  of  upper-class 
men  and  the  faculty,  but  without  a  very  marked  success. 
The  institution  has  plainly  seen  its  best — or  its  worst — 
days,  yet  will  doubtless  continue  to  exist  for  some  time 
to  come  ;  for  such  things  die  hard  in  college. 

The  ceremony  concluded,  the  newly  initiated  are 
pledged  to  observe  the  secrets  of  their  society,  ordered 
to  assemble  at  the  hall  early  on  the  following  evening, 
and  dismissed, — though  not  until  several  have  been 
called  upon  to  "make  speeches,"  which  are  greeted 
with  uproarious  mock-applause,  and  sarcastic  cries  of 


68  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

"  Well  clone,  Freshie !"    "  Good  for  you  !"    and  so   on. 
Next  day  the  Freshmen  pay  their  initiation  fees,  which 
vary  from  five  dollars  to  twice  that,  in  different  societies 
and   different  years  ;  swing  out  their  badges,  most  of 
which  are  lent  them  by  the  Sophomores  until  their  own 
can  be  engraved  upon  the  back  with  their  names  and 
that  of  their  class ;  and  at  the  appointed  hour  approach 
their  society  hall,  which  they  find  entirely  transformed 
in  appearance  since  the  previous  night.      The  Sopho 
mores  are  now  stretched  out  upon  the  carpeted  floor,  in 
the  center  of  the  hall,  smoking,  laughing,  and  singing, 
while  the  Freshmen  occupy  the  seats  about  them.     The 
president  orders  the  reading  of  the  constitution,  whereto 
the  new  members  affix  their  names.     A  farewell  poem 
and  oration  are  pronounced,  or  possibly  a  play  is  acted. 
Then  a  new  president  is  elected  by  the  Freshmen,  a  few 
parting  words  of  explanation  and  advice  are  offered  by 
the    retiring    sophomore    president,    hearty  cheers    are 
given  for  him,  for  the  society,  and  for  the  new  members 
(which   the   latter   feebly  reciprocate — not  having   yet 
learned  to  cheer  effectively),  and  the  Sophomores,  strik 
ing  up  a  farewell  song,  for  the  last  time  march  forth  in 
a  body  from  the  hall.     The  final  chant  of  Delta  Kap 
consists  in  ah  indefinite  repetition  of  the  words :  "  Oh 
Delta  Kappa  Kappa  Kap,  Oh  Delta  Kappa.TKappa," 
to  the  tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle."     Reaching  the  street 
in  front  of  their  hall,  the  ex-members  combine  in  giving 
a  tremendous  "  three-times-three"  cheer  for  their'society, 
and  disband  forever.     Previous  to  the  exercises  of  the 
second    night,    a  few  who  had   not  answered  to  their 
names  at  the  roll-call  of  the  night  before  are  sometimes 
shaken  a  little  in  the  blanket,  as  are  also,  though"more 
rarely,  the  few  who  join  the  society  after  their  own  class 
controls    it.     The    initiation    of   honorary  members   is 
only  a  formal  ceremony.     In  the  days  of  joint-initiation, 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  69 

the  members  of  each  society,  at  its  close,  marched  off 
with  their  Freshmen  to  their  respective  halls,  and  there, 
as  now,  pledged  them  to  secrecy,  and  dismissed  them 
until  the  following  night.  The  ceremony  which  takes 
place  at  Gamma  Nu  on  initiation  night  corresponds  to 
that  of  the  second  night  in  the  other  societies,  though 
the  members  are  formally  summoned  and  escorted  to 
the  hall  by  Sophomores.  There  are  no  treats  or  sup 
pers  in  connection  with  this  society. 

The  Freshmen,  left  to  themselves,  elect  their  remain 
ing  officers, — a  half  dozen  or  more  in  number, — make 
arrangements  for  their  next  society  meeting,  and  ad 
journ, — having  first  engaged  the  janitor,  recommended 
them  by  their  predecessors,  who  keeps  the  hall  in  order, 
and  locks  its  doors.  A  duplicate  set  of  keys,  however, 
is  kept  in  possession  of  the  president.  The  meetings  of 
the  societies  are  held  every  Saturday  evening,  opening 
about  eight  o'clock  and  lasting  two  or  three  hours. 
The  exercises  are  of  a  literary  character  and  consist  of 
debates,  declamations,  and  orations,  the  reading  of  es 
says  and  selected  passages  and  the  society  "  papers," 
which  are  made  up  of  miscellaneous  writings  prepared 
by  regularly  elected  editors.  The  paper  of  Sigma  Eps 
is  called  the  Star,  that  of  Delta  Kap  the  Crescent.  A 
critique  upon  the  proceedings  of  that  or  the  previous 
meeting  is  generally  the  last  thing  offered.  The  ap 
pointments  for  the  various  duties  are  announced  by  the 
president  one,  two  or  three  weeks  in  advance,  and  the 
order  of  exercises  of  the  following  week  is  read  at  the 
close  of  each  meeting.  Full  programmes  of  the  exer 
cises  and  appointments  of  each  evening,  written  out  by 
the  secretary  upon  blank  forms  printed  for  the  purpose, 
are  posted  about  the  halls.  Fines  are  exacted  for  fail 
ure  to  fulfil  appointments,  or  for  absence  at  roll-call, 
which  is  made  both  at  the  opening  and  the  close  of  the 


7°  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

meeting ;  and  a  neglect  to  pay  fines  or  taxes  may  de 
prive  a  member  of  the  right  of  suffrage.  Once  or  twice 
in  a  year  a  "  prize  debate"  is  instituted,  before  old  soci 
ety  men— members  of  the  faculty  if  possible— as  judges. 
Printed  programmes  are  provided,  and  neither  these 
nor  the  names  of  the  prize  takers  are  kept  secret  from 
the  outside  world.  These  semi-public  debates  were 
started  by  the  Delta  Kap  men  of  '70,  though  less  exten 
sive  prize  trials  had  been  known  of  in  previous  years' 
in  both  societies.  There  is  considerable  singing  of  so 
ciety  songs  at  the  meetings,  with  accompaniment  on  the 
piano  forte, — one  of  which  instruments  is  owned  or 
rented  by  every  college  society,— and  nearly  every  class 
feels  bound  to  add  a  song  or  two  to  the  collection,  if 
not  to  print  a  new  edition  of  the  song  book.  Delta 
Kap  no  longer  pretends  to  keep  its  song  book  secret, 
and  with  Sigma  Eps  the  concealment  is  only  nominal, 
but  as  the  Freshmen  disband  at  a  comparatively  early 
hour,  they  rarely  sing  their  songs  upon  the  street.  A 
group  of  upper-class  men  may  sometimes  strike  up  a 
freshman-society  song,  though  not  usually  in  the  day 
time. 

For  the  first  few  weeks  succeeding  initiation,  a  good 
number  of  Sophomores  drop  in  at  the  meetings,  "to 
see  how  the  Freshies  are  getting  along,"  but  after  that 
only  a  few  upper-class  men  will  be  found  there,  except 
there  be  some  special  attraction,  as  a  contested  election 
of  officers,  or  a  play,  or  a  "peanut-bum."  When  the 
society,  in  the  persons  of  its  active  or  honorary  mem 
bers,  has  come  off  with  honors  in  some  college  contest 
(or  without  them— it  makes  little  difference),  the  event 
is  celebrated  in  this  wise  at  the  next  succeeding  nuvi- 
ing  :  After  the  close  of  the  literary  exercises,  a  sack 
containing  one  or  two  bushels  of  peanuts  is  emptied 
upon  the  Moor,  and  an  indiscriminate  scramble  is  made 


THE  SO  CIE-TY  S YS TEAL  7 l 

for  them  by  the  upper-class  guests  and  their  freshman 
entertainers.  Then  cigars  are  distributed,  and  perhaps 
in  extraordinary  cases  fruit  also,  while  lemonade  may 
supersede  the  customary  ice  water — for  stronger  bever 
ages  are  unknown  in  a  freshman  society.  Smoking  is 
also  forbidden  during  the  exercises,  and  card-playing  at 
any  time  is  a  thing  unheard  of.  Gamma  Nu  holds  once 
a  term  what  is  called  a  "jubilee,"  on  which  occasions 
upper-class  men  and  other  honorary  members  address 
the  society.  These  and  all  its  literary  exercises  are 
open  to  all  in  college  who  choose  to  attend  them,  though 
the  business  of  the.  society  is  transacted  in  the  presence 
of  none  but  members.  '  In  rare  cases  a  Senior  or  even 
a  Junior  will  invite  to  his  freshman  hall  a  classmate  who 
belonged  to  a  rival  society.  This  causes  much  indigna 
tion  among  the  Freshmen,  and  when  they  discover  any 
such  visitor,  he  is  apt  to  be  expelled  without  much  cere 
mony.  Even  upper-class  men  regard  the  practice  as 
rather  dishonorable.  It  happens  on  initiation  nights 
oftener  than  at  other  times,  when,  on  account  of  the  dis 
guises  and  the  confusion,  an  interloper  is  more  likely  to 
escape  detection  ;  though  if  he  is  detected  then,  his 
chances  for  an  easy  escape  are  proportionately  lessened. 
It  might  be  a  serious  matter  for  anyone  not  a  college 
man  to  be  caught  trespassing  in  a  freshman-society  hall. 
A  few  years  ago  a  person,  believed  to  be  a  reporter  for 
a  city  paper,  was  found  at  the  Sigma  Eps  initiation,  and 
so  thoroughly  "  put  through"  that  he  will  not  be  likely 
to  repeat  his  visit.  It  is  possible  that  the  public  is  in 
debted  to  this  gentleman  for  many  of  the  fabulous  ac 
counts  of  college  doings,  which  have  been  so  widely 
circulated  by  the  newspapers. 

The  society  officers  are  elected  twice  a  term.  The 
office  of  president  is  accounted  a  high  honor,  especially 
that  of  final  or  "  campaign"  president  of  each  class, 


72  FOUR    YEARS  A  7"   YALE. 

and  party  spirit  between  the  supporters  of  different  can 
didates   often  runs  high.      The   "  parties"  are  usually 
managed  in  the   interests  of  the  junior  societies,  in  a 
way  described  hereafter,  and  when  nearly  equal  they 
stir  up  considerable  excitement.      "Fence  men"   are 
treated  to  suppers,  promised  "class  elections"  to  junior 
societies  by  those  who  are  pledged  there,  and  by  any 
and  every  means  pledged  to  vote  with  one  party  or  the 
other,  or  to   absent  themselves  from  the  election.     In 
extreme  cases,  men  are  spirited  away  or  locked  up  by 
partisans  of  "  the  other  side,"  until  after  the  election  is 
concluded.     In  this  event  the  minority  attempt  to  defer 
the  election,  and  by  skilful  skirmishing  and  "  time"  dis 
cussions  upon  parliamentary  decisions,  may  be  able  to 
"  keep  the  floor"  till  midnight— when  the  meeting  is  ad 
journed  by  limitation — and   so   carry  their  point.     At 
the  Sigma  Eps  campaign  election  of  1866,  the  "essay 
ist"  strengthened  one  of  his  arguments  by  a  quotation 
from  a  congressional  speech  which— what  with  interrup 
tions,  and  discussions  of  the  "  points  of  order"  involved, 
which  the  chair  decided  in  favor  of  the  essayist — was 
unfinished  when  the  hour  of  adjournment  arrived.     The 
half  dozen  or  more   members  of  the  initiation  commit 
tee  are  also  chosen  on  the  night  of  the  campaign  elec 
tion,  or  appointed   by  the  president  then  elected,  who 
by  virtue  of  his  office  is  always  one  of  them.     Positions 
on  this  committee  are  eagerly  sought  for,  and  are  gen 
erally  given  to   "popular"  men,  rather  than  to   those 
otherwise  distinguished.     Its  members  wear  as  a  badge 
of  office  a  small  gold  horn,  or  pair  of  horns  crossed, 
next  to  their  society  pin.     Besides  attending  to  the  init 
iation   when  it  comes,  they  are  supposed  to  take   the 
lead  beforehand    in  electioneering   and  pledging   sub- 
Frcshmen  to  the  society.     Gamma  Nu  elects  a  corres 
ponding  "campaign  committee,"  but  as  there  are  no 


THE  SO  CIE  TV  S  YS  TEM.  7  3 

badges  nor  suppers  attendant  upon  the  office,  positions 
upon  it  are  not  accounted  of  so  much  importance.  In 
years  when  junior  politics  do  not  affect  the  freshman 
societies,- two  of  them,  usually  the  secret  ones,  form  a 
coalition  against  the  third,  and  exclude  the  latter  from 
any  share  in  the  "  Annual  Jubilee  "  committee.  For 
merly,  when  the  two  general  college  societies  were  more 
flourishing,  the  campaign  vice-secretaryships  of  Linonia 
and  Brothers  were  considered  sufficiently  desirable 
offices  to  be  portioned  out  in  advance  by  means  of  a 
coalition  ;  but  at  present  the  membership  of  the  com 
mittee  referred  to  is  the  only  elective  honor  of  freshman 
year  that  is  thought  worth  righting  for.  Each  of  the 
two  societies  of  the  coalition  therefore  nominates  half 
the  members  of  the  committee  and  agrees  to  support 
the  nominees  of  the  other  ;  and  as  both  combined  form 
a  clear  majority  of  the  class,  the  candidates  of  a  third 
party  or  society  have  very  little  chance,  on  the  day  when 
"  the  class"  as  such  elects  its  committee. 

Hardly  are  the  Freshmen  in  control  of  their  society, 
when  an.  anxiety  for  their  successors  prompts  them  to 
dispatch  messengers  to  the  large  fitting-schools — at  An- 
dover,  Easthampton  and  elsewhere — which  they  them 
selves  have  just  quitted,  and  "pledge"  as  many  sub- 
Fresh  as  possible.  A  school  once  controlled  by  a  so 
ciety  is  apt  to  remain  so,  during  several  successive 
years  ;  for  self-interest  naturally  keeps  its  members  to 
gether  and  inclines  them  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
predecessors  with  whom  they  are  acquainted.  Thus 
the  Andover  men  go  to  Delta  Kap  almost  in  a  body, 
and  usually  control  the  election  of  the  first  president, — 
whom  indeed  they  may  have  nominated  before  leaving 
their  academy.  But  school-day  distinctions  as  a  politi 
cal  force  seldom  outlast  the  first  few  months  of  college 
life.  So  carefully  is  the  early  canvass  conducted,  that 

5 


74  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  members  of  all  schools  of  any  importance  are 
"  pledged  "  months  before  they  approach  New  Haven, 
and  it  is  only  the  ones  fitted  under  private  tutors  or  in 
distant  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  to  be  met  and 
argued  with  in  the  manner  already  described, — though 
these  doubtless  form  in  the  aggregate  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number.  As  the  time  of  the  entrance  examin 
ation  approaches,  not  only  do  the  freshman-society  run 
ners  infest  the  trains  and  the  New  Haven  depot,  as 
already  stated,  but  they  are  also  regularly  stationed  at 
important  railway  centers,  as  New  York,  Springfield 
and  New  London,  and  there  lie  in  wait  for  the  un 
pledged  "candidates."  The  expenses  of  a  campaign 
conducted  in  this  manner  are  of  course  considerable, 
and  are  borne  for  the  most  part  by  the  society,  though 
not  unfrequently  the  campaign  president  or  even  mem 
bers  of  the  initiation  committee  individually  pay  out 
considerable  sums  of  money  for  "the  cause."  Shortly 
after  initiation  night,  the  two  committees  join  in  giving 
an  elaborate  supper,  to  which  are  invited  the  committees 
of  the  year  before,  and  perhaps  also  those  in  the  senior 
class — what  there  are  left  of  them.  Ornamented  bills- 
of-fare  bearing  the  insignia  of  the  two  societies  and  the 
names  of  those  partaking  of  the  feast,  are  sometimes 
provided.  For  this  supper  sometimes  the  society  pays, 
sometimes  the  individual  committee  men ;  and  some 
times  the  latter  agree  in  consideration  of  the  supper  to 
present  no  bills  for  electioneering  expenses  incurred  in 
the  society's  behalf.  There  is  a  dispute  as  to  the  the 
ory  of  the  thing,  but  in  practice  it  amounts  to  this,  that 
if  any  money  is  left  in  the  treasury  after  the  regular 
debts  of  the  society  have  been  paid,  the  committee 
are  pretty  certain  to  have  it,  for  their  supper  ;  otherwise 
their  claim  amounts  to  little.  The  last  supper  was 
given  by  the  committees  of  '71.  Those  of  '72  set  a 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  75 

better  precedent,  and  as  those  of  '73  followed  it,  per 
haps  the  custom  will  not  be  again  revived. 

Each  class  gives  the  society  free  from  debt  to  its  suc 
cessor,  and  generally  leaves  behind  some  substantial 
token  of  remembrance  in  the  form  of  an  improvement 
to  the  hall  or  other  addition  to  the  society  property. 
A  large  amount  of  money,  even,  was  left  in  the  Delta 
Kap  treasury  by  the  Sophs  of  '72.  Aside  from  the  fines, 
which  avail  but  little,  taxes,  to  the  amount  of  ten  or  fif 
teen  dollars  in  all,  are  levied  upon  the  members,  at 
various  times  during  the  year,  to  meet  the  current 
expenses ;  and  the  initiation  fees  derived  from  the  suc 
ceeding  class  are  expended  in  advance  for  the  same  pur 
pose.  Directly  and  indirectly,  a  man's  freshman  society 
will  cost  him  on  the  average  from  thirty-five  to  forty 
dollars.  In  the  case  of  Gamma  Nu,  where  there  .are  no 
outside  and  unnecessary  expenses,  these  figures  may  be 
somewhat  reduced,  but  from  the  fewness  of  its  members 
the  share  of  each  in  its  regular  expenses  must  be  pro 
portionately  greater  than  in  the  other  societies.  When 
Freshmen  find  no  traces  of  their  initiation  fees  in  the 
society  treasury,  they  are  often  a  little  indignant,  imag 
ine  themselves  the  victims  of  "  another  swindle,"  and 
put  ready  confidence  in  current  rumors  that  all  their 
money  is  expended  upon  a  supper  for  the  initiation  com 
mittee  or  for  the  society  in  general.  As  already  shown, 
however,  the  greater  part  of  the  money  is  invested  for 
the  permanent  benefit  of  the  society,  for  which  their  pre 
decessors  of  course  claim  the  credit. 

At  first  the  Freshman  cares  a  good  deal  for  his  society. 
He  is  punctual  at  the  meetings,  fulfills  his  appointments, 
pays  his  fines  and  taxes  promptly,  and  above  all  is  very 
zealous  about  keeping  its  "secrets."  He  scorns  and 
detests  those  upper-class  men  who  talk  over  his  society 
affairs  so  freely  with  outsiders,  and  vows  to  himself  that 


7 6  FOUR    \KARS  AT  YALE. 

he  will  never  be  guilty  of  such  baseness  in  future  years. 
Gradually  his  interest  lessens.     He  gets  a  pledge  to  a 
junior  society— or  tries  to— and  begins  to  "  wonder  how 
the  sophomore-society  elections  are  coming  out."      He 
grows  inclined  to  think  his  taxes  oppressive,  and  to  vote 
that  the  society  expenditures  be  hereafter  met  by  future 
initiation   fees.      If  he  belongs  to  a  faction  far  in  the 
minority,  perhaps  he  absents  himself  from  most  of  the 
meetings,  and  gives  the  majority  leave  "  to  run  their  own 
society."     The  third  term  comes,  with  its  many  special 
excitements,  and  the  regular  routine  is  sadly  broken  up. 
Delta  Kap  for  the  first  time  nails  clown  its  foot-lights 
and  brings  out  a  play  or  two.     The  campaign  elections 
are  decided,  and  the  fight  over  the  unpledged  sub-Fresh 
men  begins  in  earnest.     The  new  year  opens,  and  the 
Sophomore — who  has  probably  experienced  a  sea  change 
for  the  worse  in  his  notions  of  morality — initiates  his 
Freshman,  and  "gets  a  supper" from  him  if  he  can.     He 
still  takes  a  little  interest  in  his  old  society,  but  doesn't 
scruple  to  relate  outside  anything  notable  which  he  sees 
occurring  there.     By  the  time  he  becomes  a  Junior  or 
Senior,  he  hardly  thinks  of  his  society  at  all,  save  when 
he  tries  to  "get  a  supper"  of  a  Freshman  in  its  name, 
or  is  invited  to  a  play  or  "peanut  bum."     A  dozen  years 
after  graduation,  he  would  hesitate  before  he  could  tell 
you  the  name  of  it.     A  graduate  rarely  enters  the  society 
unless  specially  invited,  or  sent  by  the  faculty  as  its  rep 
resentative.     It  is  esteemed  dishonorable  for  an  upper- 
class  man  to  electioneer  or  pledge  for  a  freshman  socictv, 
and  such  pledges  count  for  little  in  the  college  code. 
He  may  say  to  a  friend  or  relative  :   "  I  account  my  soci 
ety  the  best  one,  and  advise  you  to  go  there,"  but  noth 
ing  more.      So,  likewise,  public  sentiment  condemns  an 
upper  class  man  who  allows  fn-shman  sot  ii-ty  consider 
ations  to  effect  his  clmi.v  of  candidates  for  office,  or  to 
prejudice  in  any  way  his  action  or  opinion. 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  'I  'EM:  7  7 

The  prize  lists  issued  by  each  society  as  electioneering 
arguments  do  not  really  conflict  with  one  another,  though 
each  makes  its  own  society  appear  ahead  in  the  matter 
of  honors,  and,  taken  by  itself,  conclusively  proves  it  to 
be  in  those  respects  "the  best."  The  inference  drawn 
by  Freshmen  from  the  apparently  contradictory  state 
ments,  that  all  the  figures  are  unreliable,  is  a  mistaken 
one  in  fact,  though  practically  about  correct,  since  the 
figures  as  arranged  are  the  means  of  as  much  deception 
as  if  really  in  themselves  untrue.  Taking  the  three 
lists  of  1866,  as  fairly  representing  how  the  "art  of  put 
ting  things"  is  usually  practised  by  these  societies,  we 
find  that  Sigma  Eps  ignores  Gamma  Nu  altogether,  and 
compares  itself  "with  its  rival  Delta  Kap"  in  respect  to 
those  classes  of  honors  which  have,,  during  the  last  few 
years,  turned  the  scale  in  its  own  favor.  Delta  Kap,  on 
the  other  hand,  reprints  the  summaries  of  the  two  cata 
logues,  and  thus  makes  out  its  total  membership  and 
number  of  honors  to  be  ahead  of  its  rival.  It  shows 
how  that  it  has  had  more  of  the  Cochleaureati  and  the 
senior-society  men  of  the  past  few  years  than  all  the 
other  societies  combined,  and  has  "  received  eight  out  of 
fourteen  Wooden  Spoons."  It  also  exhibits  itself  ahead 
in  the  matter  of  "  Editors  of  the  Yale  Lit."  "  class 
orators  and  poets,"  "  DeForest-medal  men"  and  "  Com 
modores  of  the  Navy," — taken  for  a  long  series  of  years. 
An  examination  of  opposing  lists  may  show  that  of  late 
years  it  has  been  behind  in  these  respects.  The  Gamma 
Nu  list,  calling  itself,  with  a  certain  amount  of  truth, 
"  the  only  complete  and  authentic  record  published," 
does  not  display  its  badge,  as  the  other  lists  do,  or  other 
wise  indicate  its  origin.  Like  Sigma  Eps,  it  confines 
most  of  its  statistics  to  the  four  classes  in  college,  and, 
unlike  it,  compares  the  honors  taken  by  all  three  socie 
ties.  The  result  is  of  course  in  its  own  favor.  A 


78  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

peculiarity  of  this  list  is  the  indication  in  the  "sum 
mary"  of  the  "cash  value"  of  the  honors.  As  Gamma 
Nu  takes  most  of  the  scholarships,  which  are  the  only 
"  honors"  whose  "  cash  value"  is  of  any  consequence, 
the  reason  of  this  is  obvious.  The  highest  elective,  and 
all  but  the  highest  literary,  honors  —  and  these  are 
accounted  of  more  importance  than  any  others  —  are 
thus  reduced  to  nothing  in  the  "  summary  of  cash  val 
ues  ;"  while  a  single  important  scholarship  makes  a 
greater  display  of  dollars  and  cents  than  could  all  the 
other  honors  of  college  combined.  Another  peculiarity 
of  the  list  is  the.  publication  of  "  the  elective  political 
honors  of  the  past  year,  that  is,  the  officers  of  Linonia 
and  Brothers."  Formerly,  without  doubt,  these  offices 
might  fairly  be  included  among  the  honors  ;  but  for  some 
years  past  the  "  elections"  have  gone  by  default,  and  an 
"  office"  in  one  of  these  defunct  institutions  has  been 
quite  as  commonly  considered  a  disgrace  as  an  honor  to 
the  holder.  The  present  list,  in  its  "grand  total  of  the 
four  classes,"  gives  Gamma  Nu  109  honors  with  a  cash 
value  of  $2400;  Sigma  Eps  72,  valued  at  $680;  and 
Delta  Kap  62,  valued  at  $316.  Each  society  of  course 
possesses  "  strong  points"  of  its  own,  and  the  effective 
ness  of  a  prize  list  depends  upon  the  skill  with  which 
they  are  brought  into  prominence,  and  made  to  over 
shadow  its  shortcomings  in  those  respects  wherein  a 
rival  list  as  evidently  has  the  advantage.  Of  the  verbal 
arguments  employed  by  the  partisans  of  these  societies 
no  description  is  possible,  but  nothing  more  absurd  and 
preposterous  than  much  which  is  said  in  favor  or  against 
them  can  well  be  imagined.  Perhaps  the  claim  which 
excites  the  most  general  derision  is  that  soberly  advanced 
by  Gamma  Nu  men,  to  account  for  their  want  of  success 
in  securing  Freshmen,  that  "  the  number  of  their  mem 
bers  is  designedly  limited."  On  the  whole,  the  oppos- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  79 

ing  arguments  and  prize  lists  may  be  said  to  prove 
almost  nothing,  and  to  do  little  more  than  confuse 
the  "candidate"  who  attempts  to  compare  them  and 
make  out  their  significance. 

In  the  college  faculty  Sigma  Eps  and  Delta  Kap  are 
each  represented  by  a  half-dozen  professors,  and  Gamma 
Nu  by  two  or  three  tutors.  Among  other  names  to  be 
noticed  in  the  Sigma  Eps  catalogue  are  those  of  Henry 
T.  Blake  of  '48,  patron  of  the  Wooden  Spoon  ;  William 
I).  Bishop  of  '49,  founder  of  a  prize  debate  fund  in 
Linonia  ;  Champion  Bissell  and  Frederic  B.  Perkins  of 
'50;  George  W.  Smalley  of  '53,  London  correspondent 
of  the  Tribune ;  Sidney  E.  Morse  of  '56,  publisher  of 
the  N.  Y.  Observer ;  and  many  professors  at  other  col 
leges,  tutors  at  Yale,  lawyers,  doctors  and  clergymen. 
Among  Delta  Kap  men  may  be  mentioned  Charles  D. 
Gardette  of  '50;  Homer  B.  Sprague,  and  William  M. 
Stewart,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Nevada,  of  '52  ;  Andrew  D. 
White,  president  of  Cornell  University,  Charlton  T. 
Lewis,  of  the  Evening  Post,  and  Edmund  C.  Stedman, 
of  '53  ;  Rev.  William  H.  H.  Murray  of  '62,  with  the 
usual  proportion  of  Yale  tutors  and  outside  professors,  a 
general  or  two  upon  either  side  during  the  late  war,  and 
others.  From  the  comparatively  recent  establishment 
of  Gamma  Nu,  it  naturally  happens  that  few  well  known 
names  can  be  found  upon  its  lists. 

The  attempt  to  indicate  the  relative  position  of  these 
societies  is  rendered  the  more  difficult  by  the  anomalous 
character  of  the  youngest  one,  which  calls  for  an  ex 
tended  explanation.  Gamma  Nu  was  started  as  an  open 
society,  in  direct  defiance  of  the  established  order  of 
things,  and  its  founders,  suffering  the  fate  of  all  reformers, 
were  despised,  derided  and  abused.  Every  possible 
attempt  was  made  to  crush  the  "  Gamma  Nuisance"  and 
to  bring  its  supporters  to  naught  ;  but  spite  'of  persecu- 


So  l-'OTR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tion  and  obloquy — or  perhaps  because  of  them — the 
society  slowly  gained  ground,  and  finally  fought  its  way 
into  recognition  as  a  college  institution.  Attempts  are 
no  longer  made  to  break  it  up,  or  to  debar  its  members 
from  the  elective  honors  of  the  college  ;  yet  a  trace  of 
the  old  prescriptive  spirit  still  manifests  itself  both  in 
the  ill-defined  prejudice  against  "  Gamma  Nu  men" 
which  always  prevails  among  the  members  of  the  other- 
societies,  and  in  the  instinctive  consciousness  on  the 
part  of  the  former  that  they  are  "looked  down  upon"  by 
their  rivals.  The  name  is  still  a  sort  of  reproach,  and  a 
general  sigh  of  "  Too  bad  !"  goes  up  when  the  fact  is 
known  that  some  "good  fellow"  has  "pledged  to  Gamma 
Nu."  Yet  some  "good  fellows,"  and  some  of  the  very 
best  men,  in  every  class,  do  go  there — as  also  do  some 
of  the  very  poorest.  Two  quite  opposite  motives  draw 
members  thither  :  the  one,  a  manly  contempt  for  the 
silly  mummeries  and  greedy  extortions  attendant  upon 
the  secret  societies ;  the  other,  a  childish  dread  of  the 
pictured  terrors  of  initiation.  But  as  time  passes  on, 
and  the  one  influenced  by  the  former  consideration  finds 
that  these  evident  faults  as  compared  to  offsetting  advan 
tages  are  small,  and  the  one  influenced  by  the  latter 
finds  that  they  are  little  more  than  inventions, — both 
are  apt  to  repent  of  their  action.  Probably  few  men 
ever  joined  the  society  who  were  not  afterwards,  in  their 
own  hearts,  a  trifle  ashamed  of  it.  The  natural  result 
is  a  fierce  attempt  by  zeal  in  its  behalf  to  cover  up  the 
disappointment.  Gamma  Nu  men  fulfil  their  society 
duties  more  faithfully  than  do  others,  electioneer  more 
persistently,  attend  to  its  interests  more  noticeably  when 
they  become  upper-class  men,  and  so  on.  They  are,  in 
short,  harder  workers,  and,  in  proportion  to  their  num 
bers,  they  secure  a  far  larger  share  of  the  substantial 
college  awards.  But  by  everything  they  do  they  show 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  8 1 

the  consciousness  of  the  hated  social  inferiority,  against 
which  they  so  pluckily  and  hopelessly  contend.  Among 
upper-class  men,  Sigma  Eps  may  deride  Delta  Kap,  and 
it  passes  for  a  joke ;  Delta  Kap  may  insinuate  that 
Sigma  Eps  as  a  Junior  blackballs  all  but  his  own  men, 
and  nothing  but  laughter  results  ;  but  when  the  attempt 
is  made  thus  to  jest  about  Gamma  Nu,  it  falls  flat.  For 
there  is  a  sort  of  sneaking  feeling  that  upper-class 
Gamma  Nu  men  do  work  for  their  freshman  society  on 
occasion,  and  facetious  references  to  the  belief  may 
"  hit"  some  one  awkwardly.  A  man  may  be  retailing  the 
most  fearful  slanders  concerning  either  the  secret  socie 
ties  without  thinking  who  are  his  auditors,  but  the 
moment  he  has  said  anything  against  Gamma  Nu  he 
instinctively  glances  through  them  for  fear  lest  some  one 
be  "  hurt." 

The  faculty  have  sometimes  favored  this  society  as 
against  the  others,  by  giving  notice  that  those  who  join 
the  latter  diminish  their  chances  of  receiving  pecuniary 
assistance  as  indigent  students.  1'he  principle,  too, 
which  excites  sympathy  for  "  the  under  dog  in  the  fight" 
has  drawn  to  the  fold  many  of  its  best  men.  A  few  of 
the  weaklings — those  who  at  the  first  secretly  admired 
the  worst  features  of  the  other  societies,  but  were  afraid 
to  join  them — often  leave  Gamma  Nu,  and  sometimes 
even  join  one  of  its  rivals, — where,  like  all  traitors,  they 
are  received  joyfully,  and  despised  heartily  ;  while  on 
the  other  hand  no  Sigma  Eps  or  Delta  Kap  man  ever 
yet  deserted  his  society  for  a  rival  one.  Yet  almost 
universally  the  fact  is  as  stated,  that  the  consciousness 
of  being  under  the  ban  of  college  opinion  causes  the 
Gamma  Nu  men  to  make  more  of  their  society  than  do 
any  of  the  others.  Much  of  the  prejudice  against  it  is 
undoubtedly  due  to  this,  that  it  cannot  lay  claim  to  the 
respect  always  given  to  consistent  action.  Its  members 
5* 


#2  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

are  as  ready  as  anyone   to   join  the  upper-class  secret 
societies,  so  that  the  pretence  of  their  being  any  "  prin 
ciple"  involved  in  its  anti-secret  character  is  of  course 
absurd.     Such  a  society  is  only  possible  in  freshman 
year,  for  no  man  who  understands  the  drift  of  things  in 
college  could  ever  be  persuaded  to  join  it.     In  a  broadly 
general  way,  Gamma  Nu   may  be  called  the  society  of 
hard  working  scholarship,  Sigma  Epsof  careless  literary 
excellence,  and  Delta  Kap  of  good  fellowship  and  socia 
bility  ;  though  the  characters  here  assigned  as  distinctive 
of  the  two  last  are  not  so  marked,  perhaps,  as  that  indi 
cated  for  the  first,  and  their  social  standing  in  the  col 
lege  world  is  one  of  absolute  equality.     Judged  by  its 
success,  Delta  Kap  is  at  present  "  the  best  society,"  and 
in  it  an  average  man  is  likely  to  enjoy  himself  more  and 
improve  his   opportunities  less   than    in  either    of   the 
others.     The  exact  reverse  in   both   these  respects  is 
true  of  Gamma  Nu  ;  while  Sigma  Eps  occupies  an  inter 
mediate  position — very  much   nearer  the  former  than 
the  latter.     The  scheme  of  exercises  in  the  three  socie 
ties  is,  as  already  stated,  essentially  identical ;  the  influ 
ence  which  each  exerts  in  inclining  a  man   to  make  the 
most  of  his  chances,  is  the  thing  in  which  they  differ. 
As  to  their  "secrecy,"  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  amount 
to  more  than  this,  that  while  Gamma  Nu  transacts  only 
part  of  its   business  with  closed  doors,  the  other  two 
societies  keep  theirs  shut  against  outsiders  altogether. 
The  transactions    themselves,   after  freshman    year    at 
least,  are  known  to  all  who  care  to  enquire  about  them. 
It  has  been  said  that  "  some  very  poor  men  go  to  Gamma 
Nu,"  and   of  course   the  same   hold  true  of  the  other 
societies  ;   but  there  is  this   important  difference,  that 
while,  from  the   srnallness  of   its  membership,   a  man 
must  in  the  first  case  be  thrown   in  close  contact  with 
those  whom  he  dislikes,  and  be  thought  of  as  their  com- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  83 

panion,  it  happens  in  the  case  of  the  other  societies 
that  their  numbers  allows  the  formation  of  congenial 
cliques  with  whom  alone  a  man  directly  associates  or  is 
associated  in  the  popular  mind.  Thus  the  names  of 
these  two  societies  become  connected  almost  entirely 
with  their  best  representatives,  and  the  poorer  ones  are 
in  some  way  overlooked  ;  so  that  in  speaking  of  an 
upper-class  "pill,"  the  habit  is  common  to  say,  "Gamma 
Nu  man,  I  suppose  ?"  and  if  the  reply  is,  "  No,  I  believe 
he  belonged  to  Sigma  Eps,"  or  "  to  Delta  Kap,"  to  add, 
"  Well,  he  should  have  been  one  if  he  was  n't." 

The  initiation,  as  it  has  been  described,  may  perhaps 
appear  somewhat  formidable,  and  it  may  be  well  to  add 
a  few  negative  statements  concerning  it,  and  also  to  ex 
plain  away  the  absurd  fictions  founded  upon  it,  which 
are  annually  current  in  the  newspapers.  In  the  first 
place,  there  is  nothing  dangerous  about  the  ceremony, 
and  no  one  ever  comes  to  serious  bodily  harm.  In  ex 
ceedingly  rare  cases,  from  accident  or  carelessness,  a 
slight  bruise  or  so  may  be  inflicted,  but  as  for  the  broken 
arms  and  legs  which  excite  so  much  editorial  indigna 
tion,  they  are  simply  the  myths  of  imaginative  reporters 
and  nothing  more.  In  1869  a  report,  started  by  an  ob 
scure  city  paper  called  the  Lever,  was  copied  all  over 
the  country,  to  the  effect  that  "  at  the  Delta  Kap  initia 
tion  one  Freshman  had  both  bones  of  the  forearm 
broken  short  off  near  the  elbow,  and  several  others  were 
carried  away  in  carriages  in  an  insensible  condition." 
Of  this  so  plausibly  circumstantial  a  story  the  sole  basis 
was  a  carriage  or  two  ;  for  the  carriages  were  really 
before  the  hall,  and  in  them  two  or  three  Freshmen  were 
hurried  off  to  the  awaiting  suppers, — their  conductors 
fearing  to  walk  them  thither  lest  they  be  "gobbled  up" 
on  the  way.  The  theory  of  the  initiation  is  to  try  the 
Freshman's  nerves  in  every  way,  to  scare  him  thoroughly. 


S4  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

but  not  to  hurt  him.  There  is  nothing  specially  unpleas 
ant  about  being  tossed  in  a  blanket,  and  Freshmen  often 
toss  one  another  for  the  mere  fun  of  the  thing.  But  a 
blindfolded  man,  in  a  pandemonium  of  noises,  and  an 
atmosphere  of  tobacco  smoke,  flying  up  and  down 
through  illimitable  space,  needs  all  his  wits  about  him 
if  he  would  keep  cool  and  reason  himself  into  a  feeling 
of  security.  No  one  has  any  right  to  enter  college  until 
he  is  old  enough  to  go  through  these  imaginary  terrors 
without  any  great  amount  of  flinching,  but  in  the  rare 
instances  when  a  very  young  Freshman  shows  signs  of 
faintness,  at  any  point  in  the  ceremony,  the  bandage  is 
at  once  pulled  from  his  eyes  and  he  is  declared  initiated  : 
a  proceeding  which  is  pretty  certain  to  restore  him  forth 
with.  Nor  is  it  true  that  drunken  men  control  the  pro 
ceedings.  A  Sophomore  or  two  may  be  present  who 
have  plainly  imbibed  too  freely  at  their  suppers,  but 
they  are  closely  watched  by  their  sober  companions,  and 
prevented  from  putting  Freshmen  through  any  process 
outside  the  regular  programme.  The  stories  of  Fresh 
men  being  forced  to  lie  down  with  corpses,  in  the  base 
ment  of  the  State  House,  or  being  really  buried  in 
grave  yards,  or  in  the  pit  where  the  subjects  from  the 
dissecting  room  are  finally  thrown,  have  no  grain  of 
truth  in  them  beyond  the  fact  that  the  regular  initiation 
has  sometimes  been  held  in  the  State  House  basement, 
and  sometimes  in  the  hall  of  the  old  Medical  College. 
A  mask  or  wax-figure  in  a  coffin  may  really  be  mistaken 
for  a  corpse  by  a  bewildered  Freshman,  and  the  lower 
ing  of  his  encased  form  through  a  trap  door  may  per 
haps  startle  him.  There  the  imagined  horror  ends. 
The  many  other  fearful  rumors,  which  prevail  among 
the  uninitiated  and  find  their  way  into  print,  when  traced 
to  their  source  will  be  found  to  have  no  more  ground 
work  of  reality  than  the  fables  whose  genesis  has  just 
been  indicated. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  85 

On  another  point  there  seems  to  be  a  great  misappre 
hension  in  the  public  prints.     According  to  newspaper 
authority  the  suppers   are  bribes,  and  the  initiation  a 
thing  devised  solely  to  punish  those  who  do  not  "treat." 
It  has  been  already  shown  that  the  one  thing  does  not 
depend  upon   the  other,   that  men  are  "  put  through" 
without  any  regard  to  their  liberality  in  the  way  of  feast 
ing  their  conductors,  and  that  nothing  enrages  the  Soph 
omores  more  than  to  have  upper-class  men  who  have 
been  "  treated"  by  Freshmen  try  to  "get  them  through," 
solely  on  that  account.     Freshmen  also,  to  avoid  being 
"  stolen"  by  the  wrong  men,  often  pay  their  conductors 
in  advance  the  price  of  the  supper  they  propose  to  fur 
nish,  and  by  some  accident  or  confusion  it  may  in  rare 
cases  happen   that  they  do  not  share  in  the  treat  they 
have  paid  for.     This  must  be  the  foundation  of  the  tales 
of  Sophomores  extorting  money  from  Freshmen,  under 
penalty   of  initiating  them  with  severity,    and    quietly 
putting  it  in  their  own  pockets.     This  supper  business, 
which  is  really  the  worst  feature  of  these  societies,  is 
evidently  bad  enough  in  itself,  without  these  imaginary 
embellishments.      It   is,  however,   patterned    after    the 
treats  connected  with  entrance  to  the  upper-class  socie 
ties.     But  there,  entertainers  and  entertained  are  fewer, 
and  more  select,  and  to  a  great  extent  personally  known 
to  each  other,  and  the  elected  are  supposed  to  show  their 
gratitude  for  the  honor  conferred  upon   them  by  their 
superiors :  while  here,  except  in  a  few  rare  cases,  both 
parties  to  the  supper  are  unacquainted,  and  either  ene 
mies  to  one  another  or  likely  to  become  so ;   everything 
about  the  affair  is  constrained  and  unnatural ;  and,  with 
out  the  pretence  of  sociability — still  worse,  with  the  pre 
tence — the  enjoyment  is  simply  an  animal  one.     In  its 
essence,  the  principle  which  induces  a  man  to  give  the 
expected  supper  in  freshman  year — that  is,  the  active 


86  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

desire  to  appear  liberal  or  the  passive  one  not  to  appear 
mean — hardly  differs  from  that  which  influences  him  on 
similar  occasions  for  the  two  years  following ;  yet  the 
"  accidents"  (as  the  logicians  say)  which  surround  its 
display  in  the  former  case  are  much  more  repulsive  and 
disgraceful  than  in  the  latter. 

Undoubtedly  the  initiation  and  its  attendant  customs 
put  an  unusual  amount  of  power  into  the  hands  of  the 
Sophomores,  which  those  of  them  who,  as  compared 
with  the  rest,  are  unscrupulous  oftentimes  abuse  ;  yet  as 
Freshmen  have  hardly  acquired  any  distinct  personality 
or  made  any  individual  enemies  up  to  the  time  they  are 
initiated,  the  private  revenges  which  particular  Sopho 
mores  take  this  occasion  to  wreak  are  not  common.  On 
the  whole,  then,  a  fair-minded  man  who  fully  under 
stands  the  thing  looks  upon  the  initiation  as  a  ceremony 
silly,  childish  and  perhaps  a  trifle  disreputable,  but  cer 
tainly  not  cruel,  nor  malicious,  nor  barbarous  ;  while  as 
for  the  suppers,  he  either  wishes  that  most  of  the  upper- 
class  men  who  swallow  them  might  choke  in  the  process, 
or,  if  a  believer  in  the  decency  of  human  nature,  reso 
lutely  refuses  to  think  of  them  at  all. 

To  the  boy  fitting  for  Yale,  this  much  of  advice  can 
fairly  be  given  :  Pledge  early  to  one  of  these  three  soci 
eties.  Choose  the  one  where  your  friends  will  be  with 
you,  or  the  one  which  your  upper-class  friends  recom 
mend.  If  you  enter  college  alone  and  unacquainted, 
and  have  no  preference  in  the  matter,  either  decide  up 
on  your  society  in  advance,  by  the  simple  expedient  of 
drawing  lots  or  throwing  dice,  or  else  pledge  to  the  first 
society  for  which  you  are  electioneered.  You  can  gain 
nothing  by  delay.  You  can  learn  nothing  from  partisan 
arguments  or  prize  lists.  You  can  accomplish  nothing 
by  personal  inspection.  Pledge  at  once,  and  your 
troubles  will  be  over.  Attempt  to  find  out  "  the  best," 
and  you  will  be  pretty  certain  to  take  up  with  the  worst. 


CHAPTER  II. 
SOP  II  O  M  ORE    S  O  C  I  E  T  I  E  S  . 

Kappa  Sigma  Theta.— Alpha  Sigma  Phi— Phi  Theta  Psi  — Delta 
Beta  Xi— The  Yale  "  Banger"  and  "  Tomahawk"— Chapters- 
Posters  and  Song  Books— Electioneering  and  Pledging— Giving 
out  Elections — Initiation — Ordinary  Exercises — Singing — Class 
Elections — The  Sophomore  Type. 

Tradition  has  it  that  in  the  old  days  of  Bully  Clubs 
and  town-and-gown  disturbances,  there  were  sophomore 
societies  whose  members  were  distinguished  by  the 
peculiar  shape  of  the  clubs  which  they  carried  as 
badges.  Sometimes  the  societies  grew  out  of  the  debat 
ing  associations  of  freshman  year,  which  each  class 
established  for  itself.  Like  them,  they  seem  to  have 
been  without  name  or  formal  organization.  Apparently, 
the  first  regular  sophomore  society  originated  in  the 
class  of  '41,  and  started  into  being  in  July,  1838,  though 
a  freshman  debating  club  perhaps  served  as  the  nucleus 
which  drew  its  members  together.  It  was  called  "  Kappa 
Sigma  Theta," — though,  as  is  the  case  of  Sigma  Eps, 
the  "Kappa"  was  popularly  unrecognized, — and  its 
badge  was  a  small  rectangular  gold  plate  on  which, 
above  the  society  letters,  the  emvreathed,  helmet-crested 
head  of  Minerva  was  engraved.  The  surface  of  the  pin 
was  glazed  over,  to  prevent  the  engraving  from  become- 
ing  rubbed  and  worn.  Besides  its  secret  motto,  Koiv^ 
Jiofjm,,*  Ota,  it  had  several  open  ones:  Tu  nihil  invita 
dices  faciesve  Minerva,  To  rov  dt'Oownov  ptTQOv  IGXIV  1} 
(} nitt>,  and,  Coronat  scientia  cultores  suos, — of  which  the 
first  was  the  commonest.  The  story  goes  that,  as  the 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

sophomore  year  of  '41  drew  to  its  close,  some  members 
of  the  society  proposed  that,  instead  of  disbanding  the 
organization,  it  should  be  turned  over  to  the  incoming 
Sophs  of   '42,  in  consideration  of   a  supper  given  by 
them.     The  respectable  portion  of  the  society  opposed 
the  plan,  and  when  the  others  took  advantage  of  their 
absence  and  carried  it  through,  they  themselves  destroyed 
the  society  plate  and  records.     Sigma  Theta,  however, 
thenceforth  existed  as  a  regular  sophomore  society,  and 
though  a  rival  sprung  up  a  few  years  later,  it  continued 
to  flourish  until  the  sophomore  year  of  '57,  when  ten  or 
a  dozen  of  the  ablest  men  of  that  class,  most  or  all  of 
whom  belonged  to  Sigma   Theta  or  its  rival,  formed  a 
sort  of  select  club,  which  was  apparently  intended  to 
last  through  the  course  and  not  to  conflict  with  any  of 
the  existing  societies.     Its  badge  resembled  the  original 
one  of  Sigma  Eps,  and   a  room  in  Townsend's  Block, 
opposite  the  colleges,  served  as  its  place  of  meeting,  but 
the  club  never  figured  in  the  Banner,  and  its  name,  if  it 
had  any,  has  not  been  preserved.     Though  no  mention 
was  ever  made  of  it  in  any  of   the   college  prints,  the 
existence  of  the  club  caused  a  great  uproar  throughout 
college,  especially  among  the  Sophomores,  and  sopho 
more-society  men.     Its  members  were  said  to  be  traitors 
to  the  regular  societies  which  they  belonged  to,  and  ene 
mies  of  the  whole  system,  and  so  were   expelled  from 
the  former  as  a  punishment  for  their  crime.     Few  of 
them  ever  got  into  the  junior  societies  except  by  honor 
ary  elections,  and  though  several  of  them  become  sen 
ior-society  men,  more  doubtless  would  have  been  elected 
except  for  the  unfortunate  club.     But  the  expulsion  of 
its  best  men  from  Sigma  Theta,  was  that  society's  death 
blow,  for  the  internal  dissensions  which  resulted  there 
from  were  never  harmonized,  and  things  went  on  from 
bad  to  worse  until  in  1858,  when  no  more  members  could 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  89 

be  induced  to  join  it,  the  society  definitely  gave  up  the 
ghost. 

As  already  remarked,  Sigma  Theta  was  not  left  many 
years  without  a  rival,  for  the  same  class  and  some  of  the 
same  men  who  founded  Delta  Kap  established  in  1846 
the  "  Alpha  Sigma  Phi," — whose  name  in  its  abbreviated 
form  of  Sigma  Phi  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  a  soci 
ety  so  designated  which  exists  in  other  colleges.  Its 
badge  in  shape  was  an  upright  rectangle,  almost  a 
square,  a  trifle  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter ;  its  device 
was  an  open  book,  in  white,  displaying  several  hiero 
glyphic  characters,  and  crowned  by  a  pen  ;  below  were 
the  letters  "A  2  <l> "  in  gold, — the  pen  and  the  frame 
work  being  of  the  same  material,  and  the  ground  a 
shield  of  black  enamel.  The  wood-cut  vignette  of  the 
society  was  identical  with  its  badge,  except  that  the 
framework  surrounding  the  shield  gave  place  in  the 
former  to  a  rectangular  wreath  of  oak  leaves.  Neither 
badge  nor  vignette  ever  underwent  the  slightest  change. 
Its  open  motto  was,  Causa  latet,  vis  est  notissima,  and  its 
secret  one,  'Anfad'a,  2ocfi'a,  <I>i/.ia.  Sigma  Phi  survived 
its  rival  Sigma  Theta  only  a  half-dozen  years,  and  in 
1864  came  to  a  rather  inglorious  end.  The  trouble 
arose  in  this  wise  :  About  half  of  the  Sigma  Phi  Sopho 
mores  of  '66  were  pledged  to  the  junior  society  of  Psi 
I',  and  half  to  its  rival  DKE.  Each  faction  wished  that 
a  majority  of  the  elections  given  to  the  Freshmen  of 
'67  should  be  received  by  those  who  were  pledged  to  its 
own  junior  society,  and  hence  a  fearful  strife  arose. 
The  final  result  of  it  was  that  each  faction  in  turn 
"  expelled''  the  other  from  the  society,  gave  out  elections 
to  its  own  Freshmen,  and  initiated  them  without  taking 
them  to  the  hall.  This  had  in  the  meantime  been 
closed,  for  the  faculty,  influenced  by  the  notoriously  dis 
reputable  character  of  the  society,  took  advantage  of 


90  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  disorganized  condition  of  things  to  order  its  sum 
mary  abolishment.  The  Sophomores  were  forbidden  to 
give  out  any  elections,  and  the  Freshmen  to  receive  any, 
or  to  wear  the  Sigma  Phi  badge.  Irregular  elections 
were  nevertheless  given  out  in  the  manner  stated,  and 
the  Freshmen  evaded  the  other  prohibition  by  wearing 
badges  from  which  the  "A  2  </> "  had  been  erased,  or 
displaying  the  unmutilated  badge  only  in  places  where  it 
could  be  done  "in  safety."  This  state  of  things  could 
not  long  continue.  The  elections  had  been  given  out  in 
the  middle  of  the  summer  term,  and,  with  the  opening 
of  the  new  college  year,  the  Psi  U  pledged  men  of  '67, 
who  had  received  elections  to  Sigma  Phi,  set  about  the 
establishment  of  a  new  sophomore  society.  The  con 
sent  of  the  faculty  was  at  length  obtained  on  the  con 
ditions  that  the  society  should  not  bear  the  name,  or 
adopt  the  badge,  or  occupy  the  hall,  or  in  any  way  be 
come  the  successor,  of  the  late  Sigma  Phi  ;  that  it 
should  give  attention  to  literary  exercises,  and  should 
elect  some  member  of  the  faculty  an  honorary  member. 
In  obedience  to  these  conditions  was  organized,  in  Octo 
ber,  1864,  "  Phi  Theta  Psi,"— called,  of  course,  Theta 
Psi,  simply, — with  a  badge  shaped  like  that  of  Sigma 
Phi,  but  having  as  a  device,  upon  a  black  enamel  ground 
work,  a  golden  raven  perched  upon  a  white  closed  book, 
below  the'  letters  "  tf>  0  W"  A  month  or  two  after 
Theta  Psi's  appearance,  under  the  same  conditions,  the 
DKE  faction  were  allowed  to  establish  "  Delta  Beta 
Xi," — called  Beta  Xi,  or  rarely  DBX, —  with  a  badge 
and  wood-cut  vignette  identical  with  those  of  Sigma  Phi, 
except  that  the  letters  "J  B  £ "  superseded  the  orig 
inal  "A  2  (/>."  Even  now,  Beta  Xi  men  often  wear 
pins  bearing  the  old  letters.  Sigma  Phi  was  the  only 
society  ever  abolished  by  the  faculty,  and  its  two  suc 
cessors  are  probably  the  last  which  they  will  ever  con- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  91 

sent  to  have  established.  Prof.  Thacher  of  '35  was  the 
honorary  member  chosen  by  Theta  Psi  from  among 
the  faculty  ;  Prof.  Northrop  of  '57,  the  one  chosen  by 
Beta  Xi. 

A  feature  of  the  two  earlier  sophomore  societies,  of 
which  no  trace  remains  in  those  now  existing,  was  the 
publication  of  annual  "  feuilletons,"  or  printed  attacks 
upon  one  another  and  the  college  world  in  general. 
Sigma  Theta's  "  paper"  was  called  the  Yale  Banger, 
apparently  to  burlesque  the  Yale  Banner,  and  displayed 
a  heavy  club-cane,  or  "  banger"  in  its  heading, — this 
species  of  walking  stick  being  esteemed  by  tradition  the 
Sophomore's  peculiar  property.  At  the  head  of  the 
Banger's  first  page  was  displayed  the  vignette  of  Sigma 
Theta,  with  its  list  of  members  ;  then  followed  lists  of 
the  other  societies,  accompanied  in  each  case  by  bur 
lesque  badges  and  mottoes,  Sigma  Phi  of  course  getting 
its  full  share  of  notice.  The  remaining  three  pages 
comprised  personal  and  political  gossip,  poetry,  adver 
tisements,  and  notices,  of  a  more  or  less  scurrilous 
character.  The  paper  was  issued  in  the  fall  term  of  the 
six  years  1845-50,  and  the  spring  term  of  '52.  Its 
rival,  the  Tomahawk  of  Sigma  Phi,  followed  it  by  a 
month  or  two,  but,  appearing  first  in  1847,  issued  only 
five  numbers  in  all.  This  paper  displayed  but  two  cuts  : 
the  one,  at  the  head  of  the  first  page,  a  distortion  of  the 
Sigma  Theta  badge,  accompanied  by  an  abusive  article 
regarding  that  society ;  the  other,  at  the  head  of  the 
editorial  column  on  the  second  page,  a  genuine  Sigma 
Phi  badge,  accompanied  by  a  list  of  members.  This 
paper  had  nothing  to  say  of  the  upper-class  societies, 
but  bestowed  its  derision  solely  upon  Sigma  Theta  and 
its  freshman  inferiors,  and  though  its  general  character 
was  not  unlike  that  of  the  Banger,  its  tone  was  yet  a 
trifle  more  disreputable.  So  far  as  appears  at  this  day, 


92  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  Banger's  ridicule  of  all  the  upper-class  societies,  was 
impartial  and  without  discrimination,  and  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  the  Sophomores  responsible  for  it 
were  all  desirous  of  joining  these  societies  in  the  future, 
they  deserve  some  credit  for  their  independence,  what 
ever  may  be  thought  of  their  taste.  This  cannot  be  said 
of  the  Tomahawk,  whose  conductors  never  ventured 
upon  dangerous  ground.  The  only  other  society  paper 
was  the  Battery,  issued  by  the  Delta  Kap  Freshmen,  in 
February,  1850,  which,  by  the  aid  of  a  sanguinary  wood 
cut  and  hardly  less  dreadful  letterpress,  was  enabled  to 
"  use  up"  most  effectually  its  rivals  and  oppressors. 

A  society  called  "  Kappa  Delta  Phi "  which  was 
started  at  the  Wesleyan  University  of  Middletown,  Conn., 
at  about  the  same  time  that  Sigma  Theta  appeared  at 
Yale,  and  which  had  also  adopted  Minerva's  head  as  its 
badge,  was  persuaded  to  change  its  name  and  become  a 
chapter  of  Sigma  Theta  ;  but  it  shortly  afterwards  un 
derwent  another  change,  and  became  the  Xi  chapter  of 
Psi  U,  under  which  name  it  exists  at  the  parent  day. 
Another  chapter  of  Sigma  Theta  was  extant  at  Amherst 
College  in  Massachusetts,  in  1852,  when  it  issued  a  sheet 
called  the  Amherst  Scorpion,  which  was  a  worthy  coun 
terpart  of  the  Yale  Banger,  published  by  the  parent 
chapter.  If  any  additional  chapters  ever  existed,  they 
long  ago  died  or  became  absorbed  in  some  stronger  fra 
ternity.  Sigma  Phi  established  a  chapter  called  the 
"Delta  "at  Marietta  College  in  Ohio,  where  it  still 
flourishes,  though  not  as  a  distinctively,  sophomore 
society.  It  of  course  has  been  independent  of  Yale 
since  the  death  of  the  original  "  Alpha  "  chapter  in  1864. 
The  "Beta"  was  established  at  Amherst  in  1847,  but 
was  abolished  by  the  faculty,  after  a  few  months'  exist 
ence.  The  "Gamma  "  was  established  at  Princeton  in 
1854,  and  had  a  somewhat  longer  life,  though  the 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  93 

general  decree  against  all  such  societies  finally  killed  it. 
Beta  Xi  calls  itself  the  "Alpha"  and  Theta  Psi  the  "Phi," 
but,  as  neither  have  yet  established  any  outside  branches, 
these  chapter  titles  have  no  special  significance.  The 
reasons  given  in  the  case  of  the  freshman  societies 
show  equally  well  why  the  chapter  system  will  be  apt  to 
fail  in  sophomore  year  also.  There  is,  besides,  as  will 
be  shown  hereafter,  less  to  these  societies  than  there  is 
to  those  of  the  other  years ;  they  are  little  more  than 
tenders  of  the  junior  organizations ;  and  the  interest  in 
them,  considered  apart  from  the  junior  societies  they 
represent,  is  very  small  indeed.  No  Yale  sophomore 
society  has  ever  yet  published  a  catalogue  of  its 
members. 

The  steel-plate  poster  of  Theta  Psi  represents  the  sun 
rising  over  the  waves,  and  supporting  the  letters 
"  tit  0  ;/y"  amid  its  rays  ;  above  the  shield  on  which  this 
is  pictured  rests  the  raven  upon  his  book  ;  below  it  is  a 
bull  dog's  head  ;  while  upon  the  scroll-work  surrounding 
the  design  rests  a  band  bearing  the  motto,  Amid,  usque 
ad  aras,  and  the  letters,  "J.  C."  The  wood-cut  vig 
nettes,  of  which  there  have  been  two  or  three  varieties, 
are  of  the  same  general  design.  The  Beta  Xi  poster 
reproduces  the  design  of  the  pin,  and  amid  the  orna 
mental  scroll-work  which  sets  off  the  central  shield  are 
the  words,  "Alpha,"  "Yale,"  the  date  "  1864,"  and  the 
letters  "  C.  L.  V.  E.  N.,"  initials  of  the  old  Sigma  Phi 
motto  before  given,  which,  through  printed  in  full  at  the 
head  of  the  Tomahawk,  is  not  in  these  days  generally 
known  outside  the  society,  except  in  the  version,  "  Col 
lege  laws  violated  every  night."  In  smaller  characters, 
the  old  letters  "A  2  <I>  "  and  date  "  1846  "  are  also  dis 
played  upon  the  design.  The  Beta  Xi  song  book  also 
contains  all  the  old  Sigma  Phi  songs,  and  the  name  was 
apparently  chosen  so  as  to  be  interchangeable  with  the 


94  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

latter.  In  every  way  this  society  makes  prominent  its 
parentage  and  represents  itself  as  the  "  legitimate  suc 
cessor  "  of  the  old  one.  Theta  Psi,  on  the  other  hand, 
though  the  eldest  child,  and  holding  undisputed  the 
proud  position  of  "oldest  sophomore  society,"  makes 
no  claim  for  the  succession,  but  prefers  to  keep  its 
ultimate  ancestry  in  the  background,  and  in  its  songs 
greets  without  much  respect  "  the  bones  of  the  dead, 
defunct  and  euchered  Sigma  Phi."  Each  society 
possesses  a  few  Sigma  Phi  relics, — Beta  Xi  a  larger 
proportion, — though  what  little  portable  property  of  any 
value  the  old  society  held  at  the  time  of  its  death  was 
probably  seized  upon  by  its  indignant  creditors.  The 
Theta  Psi  hall  is  [was]  in  the  Cutler  Building,  corner 
of  Chapel  and  Church  streets,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  colleges,  and  a  rod  or  two  from  the  hall  of  Delta 
Kap.  Beta  Xi  hall  is  in  Townsend's  Block,  corner  of 
Chapel  and  College  streets,  directly  opposite  the  col 
lege  yard  itself.  Both  halls  have  been  occupied  since 
the  societies  were  established,  and  are  quite  elegantly 
fitted  up.  That  of  Beta  Xi  is  considerably  the  larger, 
and  has  the  advantage — disadvantage,  some  say — in  the 
matter  of  locality.  Each  hall  is  guarded  without  by  a 
heavy  iron  door,  and  supplied  with  a  well-equipped 
stage  within — as  a  sophomore  society  without  theatricals 
would  be  an  absurdity  difficult  for  a  college  man  to  con 
ceive  of  soberly.  Since  the  above  was  written,  Theta 
Psi  has  deserted  Cutler  Corner  and  moved  into  the  old 
Diggers'  hall  in  Lyon  Building,  which,  after  refitting  at 
an  expense  of  $1,000,  it  "opened  "  with  a  grand  cele 
bration  on  February  25,  1870.  It  now  claims  to  have 
the  most  handsomely  furnished  hall  in  college. 

When  the  Freshmen  have  been  in  college  about  a 
month  or  two,  it  begins  to  be  generally  known  among 
them  that  certain  of  their  number  are  being  pledged  by 


THE  SO CIE TY  SYS TEM.  9 5 

the  upper-class  men  to  join  their  societies.  These 
chosen  ones  are  soon  perceived  to  be  "  their  most 
prominent  men,"  and  as  the  line  between  the  pledged 
and  unpledged  becomes  more  sharply  drawn,  the  latter 
are  seized  with  an  irresistible  inclination  to  get  their 
names  also  enrolled  among  the  elect.  Sometimes  the 
sophomore  societies  act  with  nominal  independence  in 
this  matter  ;  more  often  in  their  real  characters  as  ten 
ders  to  the  organizations  of  junior  year.  These  latter, 
by  means  of  committees,  make  haste  to  pledge  all  the 
Freshmen  who  at  first  view  are  desirable,  and  each  of 
them  having  thus  formed  a  nucleus  of  pledged  men  as  a 
working  force,  is  content  to  entrust  to  them  in  some 
measure  the  making  up  of  "  its  crowd."  Thereafter  the 
upper-class  committee  and  the  pledged  Freshmen  act  in 
concert.  If  the  latter,  by  secret  ballot,  unanimously 
recommend  a  class-mate,  the  former  will  probably  pledge 
him  ;  or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  strongly  object  to  a  man 
recommended  them  by  the  committee,  he  will  probably 
not  be  pledged.  The  committee  or  the  society  which  it 
acts  for  are  of  course  not  bound  in  either  case  to  do 
as  indicated,  but  it  is  not  often  that  they  venture  to  set 
aside  the  wishes  of  the  pledged  men,  either  to  reject  a 
man  recommended  by,  or  to  take  one  unpopular  with, 
the  latter.  Each  man  as  soon  as  pledged  of  course  has 
the  right  to  vote  upon  all  names  afterwards  recom 
mended,  so  that  those  latest  chosen  undergo  a  closer 
scrutiny  as  to  their  qualifications  than  do  the  compo 
nents  of  the  original  nucleus.  For  the  first  two  years 
after  the  present  sophomore  societies  were  started, 
neither  of  them  pledged  independently.  The  Freshmen 
who  pledged  to  DKE  were  assured  of  elections  to  Beta 
Xi,  while  those  who  pledged  to  Psi  U —  and  Delta  Phi 
also,  though  to  a  lesser  extent — implied  that  their 
chances  for  Theta  Psi  were  "good,"  though  they  were 


96  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

promised  nothing.  Then  followed  a  year  when  none  of 
these  societies  gave  pledges ;  but  since  that  time  the 
sophomore  societies  have  had  regular  pledging  com 
mittees,  and  though  most  of  those  pledged  to  Theta  Psi 
are  also  pledged  to  Psi  U  by  the  Juniors,  and  those  to 
Beta  Xi  to  DKE,  it  happens  that  in  many  cases  the  dis 
tinction  is  not  observed.  A  man  rarely  refuses  a  pledge 
to  a  sophomore  society,  and  the  reason  for  the  cases  in 
which  it  is  done  is  the  pecuniary  one  solely. 

About  a  month  after  the  third  term  begins,  rumors 
prevail  among  the  Freshmen  that  the  sophomore  elec 
tions  are  soon  to  be  given  out.  Though  most  of  the 
men  are  definitely  "pledged"  in  advance,  there  is 
always  enough  uncertainty  as  to  the  fact  of  their  actual 
election  to  make  the  best  of  them  feel  a  trifle  anxious, 
as  the  time  draws  nigh  for  the  official  announcement  of 
their  fate  ;  while  those  who  are  not  pledged  hope 
against  hope  that  when  the  hour  actually  comes,  "  some 
thing  will  turn  up  "  to  place  their  names  among  the 
elect.  Both  societies  generally  agree  upon  the  same 
night,  which  is  usually  that  of  Friday,  for  the  giving  out 
of  elections — though  there  is  no  settled  rule  about  the 
matter,  either  way.  On  the  appointed  evening,  the 
sophomore,  junior  and  senior  members  assemble  at  the 
society  hall,  and  at  a  late  hour,  not  much  before  mid 
night,  sally  forth  in  a  body  upon  their  errand,  marching 
by  classes  in  the  order  named,  the  president  or  some 
other  official,  distinguished  by  a  dark-lantern,  leading 
the  way,  upon  the  "  route  "  marked  out  in  advance. 
Arriving  at  the  rooms  of  the  nearest  Freshman,  the 
procession  halts,  and  sings  a  society  song  or  two  ;  then 
the  Sophomore  appointed  for'the  purpose  goes  up  to  the 
room  and  says  something  to  this  effect :  "  Mr.  So  and  So, 
[  have  the  honor  [or  "  the  pleasure,''  or  simply  "  I  offer  "  ] 
of  offering  you  an  election  to  the  So  and  So  fraternity. 


THE  SO CIE TY  SYS TEM.  9  7 

Do  you  accept  ? "  Of  course  the  Freshman  says  Yes, 
upon  which  the  Soph  congratulates  him,  and  the  whole 
party  file  in  and  do  the  same,  each  individual  shaking 
him  heartily  by  the  hand.  Congratulations  over,  the 
society  men  at  once  fall  to  discussing  the  provided 
"  spread  "  of  fruits,  cake,  and  wine,  and  having  partaken 
of  the  entertainment  and  lit  fresh  cigars,  they  assemble 
outside  again,  sing  another  song,  and  perhaps  cheer  a 
little,  and  proceed  on  their  way  to  the  next  stopping 
place,  where  the  ceremony  is  again  repeated.  If,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  several  pledged  Freshmen  are  as 
sembled  at  a  single  room,  instead  of  one,  a  correspond 
ing  number  of  Sophomores  go  up  to  give  them  their  elec 
tions,  for  each  Sophomore  has  a  particular  Freshman 
assigned  him  to  whom  he  is  to  offer  the  honor. 

This  theoretical  manner  of  proceeding,  however,  is 
not  apt  to  be  observed  after  the  first  few  elections  have 
been  given  out.  It  generally  happens  that  before  the 
men  deputed  for  the  purpose  have  had  time  to  offer  any 
formal  words,  the  crowd  at  their  heels  fill  the  room,  and 
attack  the  eatables,  without  wasting  time  in  hand-shaking 
or  congratulation.  A  few  are  generally  found  who  will 
secretly  lug  off  a  bottle  of  champagne  or  handful  of 
cigars  for  future  consumption.  The  procession  grows 
more  and  more  hilarious,  and  its  songs  hoarser  and 
huskier  as  to  utterance,  until  towards  the  last  it  is  little 
better  than  a  disorderly  crowd,  whose  members  are  apt 
to  laugh  when  some  one  smashes  a  street  lamp  with  a 
banana,  or  tosses  an  orange  through  on  open  window ; 
and  when  it  has  given  out  its  final  election,  it  lingers 
longingly  about  the  concluding  "  treat,"  and  perhaps  is 
at  length  obliged  to  drag  away  by  main  force  a  few  of  its 
tipsiest  members,  who  drowsily  insist  on  "  making  a 
night  of  it,"  then  and  there.  The  disorder  and  rowdyism 
are  due  almost  exclusively  to  members  of  the  two  upper 

6 


98  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

classes  ;  were  the  Sophomores  left  to  themselves,  disci 
pline  would  be  maintained.  The  elected  Freshmen  of 
the  same  or  different  societies  meet  together  over  the 
remains  of  their  spreads,  and  "celebrate"  their  good 
fortune  more  or  less  uproariously,  so  that  it  is  very  near 
daylight  when  the  last  of  them  are  once  more  quiet  in 
their  beds.  Sometimes  an  expectant  Fresh  hears  the 
society  move  by  his  house  without  stopping,  and  goes  to 
bed  in  despair,  only  to  be  aroused  on  its  return  trip  and 
suddenly  made  happy  by  receiving  the  pledged  election. 
Sometimes  an  over-confident  one  prepares  a  treat  for 
guests  who  never  call.  Sometimes  an  irate  landlord, 
roused  from  sleep  by  the  tramp  of  a  disorganized  host 
through  his  dwelling,  and  lashed  into  a  frenzy  by  their 
discordant  melodies,  ejects  from  the  house  the  Fresh 
man  lodger  upon  whom  the  honor  has  been  bestowed, 
and  writes  off  to  his  parents  how  their  son  has  fallen 
into  evil  ways,  and  become  the  habitual  entertainer  of 
midnight  revelers.  Generally,  however,  the  boarding 
house  keepers,  knowing  the  character  of  the  thing,  and 
remembering  that  it  comes  only  one  night  in  a  year, 
recognize  it  as  a  necessary  evil,  and  submit  to  the  in 
fliction  with  as  good  grace  as  may  be. 

As  the  treat,  formerly  a  trifling  and  impromptu  affair, 
has  gradually  grown  in  importance,  the  custom  comes 
more  and  more  into  vogue  of  offering  it  in  the  dining 
room  of  a  hotel  or  restaurant,  whither  the  half  dozen 
or  so  who  combine  in  paying  for  it  go  to  receive  their 
elections,  in  place  of  having  them  at  their  rooms.  This 
proceeding  of  course  prevents  any  unpleasantness  with 
the  private  landlords.  The  Freshmen  are  generally  ad 
vised  in  an  unofficial  manner  as  to  the  evening  when 
they  may  expect  elections,  and  in  case  a  pledged  man  is 
not  to  receive  an  election,  he  usually  receives  a  hint  to 
that  effect  beforehand.  A  card,  bearing  on  one  side  the 


THE   SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  99 

society  vignette,  on  the  other  the  names  of  the  men 
elected,  is  given  to  each  man,  so  that  after  one  election 
has  been  given  out,  the  whole  are  in  a  measure  made 
public,  for  the  receiver  of  the  card  may  contrive  to 
hurry  off  and  show  it  to  the  men  named  upon  it,  in 
advance  of  the  procession  which  formally  presents  it  to 
them.  The  names  are  usually  printed,  but  in  cases 
where  elections  were  contested  until  the  moment  of 
issuing  them,  they  are  written  with  ink  instead. 

An  interval  of  two  or  three  weeks  elapses  before 
initiation  takes  place.  Both  societies  may  adopt  the 
same  evening, — usually  that  of  Friday  or  Wednesday, — 
though  about  this  there  is  the  same  indefiniteness,  as 
about  the  times  of  giving  out  elections.  The  Freshmen 
having  paid  an  initiation  fee  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  dollars, — to  one  of  their  own  number,  appointed 
collector  by  the  Sophomores,  and  on  account  of  his 
trouble  excused  from  paying  any  fee  for  himself, — are 
directed,  by  a  printed  note  addressed  to  each,  to  assem 
ble  at  some  particular  room  occupied  by  a  Sophomore, 
at  an  early  hour  of  the  appointed  evening.  Here  they 
are  perhaps  supplied  with  cigars,  and  left  by  themselves, 
to  smoke  and  talk  over  the  prospect  before  them,  until 
summoned  for  initiation.  They  are  generally  led  away 
alphabetically,  from  time  to  time,  in  parties  of  a  half 
dozen  or  so,  until  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  more  all 
have  been  put  through  the  ceremony.  What  this  is  to 
consist  of  greatly  exercises  the  freshman  mind,  and 
rumors  that  it  is  merely  a  formal  rite  are  contradicted 
by  other  rumors  that  it  is  a  thing  considerably  more 
unpleasant  than  the  freshman  initiation  itself.  The  lat 
ter  are  the  ones  most  credited  by  the  Freshmen,  while 
college  belief  in  general  rather  favors  the  former.  This 
much  at  least  is  certain,  that  the  initiation  is  confined 
entirely  to  the  society  halls,  and  if  some  strange  noises 


loo  FOUR,  YEARS  AT   YALE. 

do  that  night  emanate  therefrom,  the  Freshmen  come 
out  of  the  ordeal  not  perceptibly  injured,  and  the  city 
newspapers  print  no  facts  or  fancies  concerning  it.  All 
the  upper-class  members  are  present  at  the  initiation, 
and  at  the  play  which  follows  it,  and  at  the  supper  which 
comes  after  the  play.  In  old  times  this  initiation  supper 
was  partaken  of  in  the  dining  room  of  some  hotel,  and 
the  bills  of  fore  were  embellished  with  the  society 
vignette  and  motto,  but  the  present  societies  have  always 
held  their  suppers  in  or  near  their  halls.  It  is  rarely 
that  any  drink  stronger  than  wine  is  provided  at  these 
suppers,  though  upper-class  men  may  smuggle  in  a  few 
bottles  of  more  fiery  beverage  for  their  own  private  use, 
and  after  the  newly  initiated  members  have  been  dis 
missed,  stay  behind  and  "celebrate"  by  themselves. 
Next  morning  the  Freshmen  swing  out  their  square  pins 
with  great  pride,  not  unmingled  with  pity,  in  many  cases, 
for  friends  who  were  less  fortunate  than  themselves. 
The  freshman-society  pins  are  still  worn,  however.  In 
some  cases  the  two  are  displayed  side  by  side  upon  the 
vest,  though  more  often  the  freshman  pin  is  attached  to 
the  vest,  and  the  sophomore  badge  to  the  shirt  bosom, 
by  the  man  who  sports  them  both.  In  sophomore  year, 
when  the  freshman  pin  has  been  discarded,  the  badge  is 
oftener  worn  upon  the  shirt  bosom,  than  in  freshman 
year,  and  when  attached  to  the  vest  is  usually  worn 
lower  clown  than  in  that  latter  year. 

The  meetings  of  the  sophomore  societies  are  held 
each  Saturday  evening,  from  about  ten  o'clock  till  mid 
night,  or  a  little  past.  Theta  Psi  generally  sings  as  it 
marches  up  Chapel  street  to  the  colleges,  and  gives 
forth  an  additional  song  or  two  from  the  corner  of  the 
college  fence  before  it  disbands.  Beta  Xi  also  sings  its 
songs  upon  that  corner,  at  the  close  of  its  meetings.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  the  two  societies,  reaching  the 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  i o  I 

fence  at  about  the  same  time,  take  up  positions  at  a 
short  distance  from  one  another  and  "  sing,  with  respon 
sive  strains," — each  society  after  offering  one  of  its  songs, 
pausing  long  enough  to  let  the  other  sing  out  one  of  its 
own,  before  proceeding  with  the  next.  Perhaps,  after 
having  sung  themselves  out,  both  societies  give  cheers 
for  each  other,  and  so  disperse.  Similarly,  when  the 
two  processions  engaged  in  giving  out  elections  chance 
to  pass  near  one  another,  songs  and  cheers  may  be  ex 
changed.  On  the  other  hand,  less  creditably  and  good 
naturedly,  each  society  has  on  some  occasions  tried  by 
singing  to  drown  the  voices  of  the  other.  These  soci 
ety  songs,  without  being  of  a  very  high  order  of  compo 
sition,  are  yet  possessed  of  a  sort  of  jovial  melody,  well 
adapted  to  the  capacity  of  the  miscellaneous  voices 
accustomed  to  render  them.  In  several  of  the  Theta 
Psi  songs,  the  "  caw  !"  of  the  raven  is  introduced  with 
fantastic  effect.  Though  the  present  tense  is  retained 
in  this  paragraph,  the  state  of  things  described  no 
longer  really  exists,  since,  within  a  year,  all  society  sing 
ing  has  been  forbidden  by  the  college  authorities  ;  while 
of  their  own  accord  the  Sophomores  have  substituted 
Friday  night,  for  the  traditional  Saturday  night,  as  the 
time  for  holding  their  meetings.  For  a  while,  after  that 
singing  had  been  brought  under  the  ban,  each  society 
used  to  march  in  a  body  to  the  college  corner,  and 
there  shout  the  names  of  its  three  Greek  letters,  with  one 
sharp  and  united  cry,  as  a  signal  for  breaking  up.  But 
this  practice  was  also  forbidden. 

Though  the  songs  were  thus  publicly  sung  upon  the 
street,  the  song  books  are  kept  secret  with  great  care, 
and  never  shown  to  outsiders  by  active  members.  Nor 
do  these  often  mention  or  refer  to  their  societies  in  pri 
vate  except  to  other  members,  and  hence  outsiders 
rarely  speak  to  a  Sophomore  concerning  his  or  a  rival 


102  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

society.  Among  upper-class  men  of  course  this  careful 
ness  does  not  prevail,  but  on  the  whole  the  sophomore 
societies  are,  except  those  of  senior  year,  more  secret 
than  any  others, — for  in  the  sophomore  class  little  is 
known  of  their  doings  except  by  their  members,  while 
in  the  junior  class  the  proceedings  of  the  junior  societies 
are  generally  understood  by  nearly  everyone.  Seniors 
or  even  Juniors  do  not  hesitate  to  talk  over  in  public  the 
good  points  of  the  last  play  which  they  attended  at  their 
sophomore  society,  and  the  "  bum"  held  in  connection 
with  it.  The  general  impression  to  be  gained  by  an 
outsider,  from  their  conversation  and  otherwise,  is  that 
the  hall  of  the  institution  in  question  is  a  sort  of  club 
room  where  Sophomores  drop  in  on  Friday  nights  to 
play  cards,  smoke  clay  pipe*  and  sip  ale  with  one 
another.  The  junior  class  will  often  be  represented 
there,  but  never  in  force  except  on  special  occasions,  as 
when  there  is  a  play,  or  a  regular  supper,  or  a  contested 
election.  At  such  times  Seniors  also  are  wont  to 
appear.  A  graduate  rarely  comes  to  the  hall  except 
brought  up  there  by  a  Senior,  or  under-class  man.  Old 
Sigma  Phi  men  if  members  of  Psi  U  are  admitted  to 
Theta  Psi,  if  members  of  DKE  to  Beta  Xi,  "  and  no 
questions  asked  ;"  though  most  of  them  in  the  two  or 
three  classes  preceding  that  of  '67,  which  founded  the 
societies,  were  regularly  elected  and  initiated  as  honor 
ary  members  of  one  or  the  other  organization,  according 
to  the  rule  indicated.  Of  course  no  old  graduate  ever 
goes  near  one  of  the  sophomore  halls,  unless  invited 
thither  by  some  active  or  recent  member.  But  a  Senior 
would  not  hesitate  to  invite  any  old  graduate  to  join 
him  in  making  a  call  at  such  a  place,  without  any  regard 
to  that  old  graduate's  connection,  or  want  of  it,  with 
Sigma  Phi,  or  any  other  sophomore  or  junior  society. 
Thirty  is  the  number  of  elections  generally  given  out 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  103 

by  each  society,  and  as  both  combined  make  up  less 
than  half  an  average  class,  of  course  many  desirable  men 
are  still  left  out,  whom  their  luckier  classmates  wish  to 
have  "  in  "  with  themselves.  They  rarely  give  out  any 
new  elections,  however,  until  the  new  year  has  opened 
and  they  themselves  are  Sophomores.  Then,  when  they 
have  succeeded  in  electing  a  classmate,  he  is  either 
brought  at  once  to  the  hall  by  a  messenger  and  initiated 
forthwith,  or  the  society — upper-class  men  and  all — 
march  in  procession  to  his  room,  singing  songs  and 
offering  congratulations,  after  the  old  manner,  and 
escort  him  back  to  the  society  hall.  As  a  class  election 
usually  comes  upon  a  man  unexpectedly,  a  treat  is  not 
expected  of  him,  yet  if  several  are  elected  at  once  they 
often  combine  to  give  a  supper  at  the  hall,  shortly  after 
wards  ;  or  a  single  individual  who  happens  to  be  free 
with  his  money  may  after  his  election  bear  the  whole 
expense  of  a  society  "spread."  When  honorary  mem 
bers  are  elected  from  the  two  upper  classes — and  almost 
any  Junior  or  Senior  is  glad  to  receive  an  election — a 
single  classmate  of  the  chosen  one  conducts  him  to  the 
initiation.  All  names  are  voted  upon  separately  by 
secret  ballot,  and  a  single  negative  vote  is  usually  suf 
ficient  to  reject  a  candidate.  The  ballot  box  is  so 
arranged  that  each  man  can  cast  his  vote  without  show 
ing  it  or  even  seeing  it  himself;  one  compartment  con 
tains  a  number  of  white  cubes  (signifying  Yes)  and  black 
balls  (signifying  No),  and  the  voters  selecting  one  of 
these  thrusts  it  into  the  other  compartment  of  the  box 
undetected. 

There  is  always  considerably  difficulty  in  reconciling 
the  conflicting  choices  in  the  matter  of  elections.  A 
man  whose  friend  is  blackballed,  may  vow  to  reject 
everyone  else  until  his  friend  has  been  elected,  and  so 
on.  An  approved  device  for  overcoming  many  difficul- 


104  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ties  is  to  "pair  off"  opposing  candidates  and  elect  them 
both  on  a  joint  ticket.  In  the  case  of  class  elections 
there  is  apt  to  be  more  than  usual  contention,  for  there 
is  greater  personal  interest  in  the  men,  and  the  number 
allowed  is  much  smaller,  and  the  voters  are  bound  by 
no  pledge  of  any  sort  to  say  Yes.  Pledged  men,  to  be 
sure,  are  sometimes  rejected,  when  formally  offered  for 
election  ;  but  it  is  accounted  rather  dishonorable  for  a 
society  to  do  this  in  many  cases  without  special  reasons, 
and  unless  a  man's  reputation  or  social  standing  changes 
greatly  for  the  worse  after  he  obtains  a  pledge,  he  may 
feel  pretty  confident  of  receiving  his  election  also.  It 
is  very  seldom,  too,  that  a  single  blackball  keeps  a  man 
from  a  society.  However  stubborn  the  caster  of  it  may 
be  at  first,  the  "pressure"  brought  to  bear  upon  him  by 
the  whole  society  arrayed  in  opposition  is  so  enormous, 
that  he  is  at  length  glad  to  reverse  his  vote  and  submit 
to  the  will  of  the  majority.  As  the  mortality  among 
sophomore-society  men  is  usually  large,  the  eight  or  ten 
class  elections  given  at  various  times  during  the  year 
rarely  bring  the  active  force  above  thirty  in  number. 
The  last  Sophomores  are  taken  in  just  before  the  pro 
cession  starts  forth  to  give  out  elections,  to  the  Fresh 
men,  and  are  not  required  to  pay  any  initiation  fees. 
The  presidency  and  lesser  offices  of  these  societies  are 
not  accounted  of  much  importance,  and  it  is  very  rarely 
that  there  is  the  least  excitement  in  regard  to  them. 
Even  upper-class  men  seldom  mention  their  incumbents, 
— though  this  is  probably  due  more  to  the  absence  of  any 
interest  concerning  them  than  to  any  settled  objection 
against  the  betrayal  of  "  secrets."  The  annual  expenses 
of  membership  are  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  greater 
than  in  the  societies  of  freshman  year. 

The  sophomore  year  is  a  sort  of  transition  period, 
and  the  sophomore  society  fairly  enough  represents  it. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  105 

Everything  is  unsettled  ;  men's  positions  are  every  day 
changing  both  relatively  and  absolutely ;  and  the  fast, 
loud-mouthed  element  in  the  community  is  to  all  appear 
ances  the  ruling  one.  For  the  first  time  the  line  between 
"society-men"  and  "neutrals"  is  plainly  drawn,  and 
the  sheep  are  separated  from  the  goats.  There  is  a 
keener  pleasure  in  sporting  the  sophomore  badge,  a 
sharper  regret  at  the  inability  to  do  so,  than  is  possible 
in  after  years.  The  lucky  Soph,  turning  his  back  upon 
the  "  heavy  literary  "  performances  of  his  freshman  year, 
thinks  that  the  only  true  enjoyment  of  a  select  society 
must  lie  in  going  to  the  other  extreme,  and  doing  nothing 
whatever  that  smacks  in  any  way  of  honest  labor  or 
improvement.  The  quiet,  substantial  men,  who  figure 
prominently  afterwards,  are  in  the  class  and  society 
now,  but  they  keep  in  the  background,  and  are  over 
shadowed  by  the  light-headed,  noisier  crew  who  are 
suffered  to  have  things  all  their  own  way.  Next  year, 
may  be,  the  reverse  will  appear ;  for  the  societies  of  two 
different  years,  composed  in  succession  of  essentially  the 
same  individuals,  may  and  in  fact  often  do,  differ  widely 
in  character  and  purpose.  The  faults  of  the  sophomore 
society  are  usually  exaggerated  by  friends  and  enemies 
alike.  It  does  not  as  a  matter  of  fact  encourage  drunken 
ness  or  immorality,  —  though  it  may  sometimes  affect  to 
do  so.  Perhaps  the  worst  thing  that  can  be  fairly  charged 
against  it  is  its  frivolous  and  purposeless  character.  It 
inspires  a  sort  of  pride  in  its  members,  but  no  affection. 
They  look  back  upon  their  connection  with  it  as  a  joke, 
and  are  careless  as  to  its  subsequent  fate.  It  would 
probably  be  more  hopeless  to  solicit  money  from  them 
in  its  behalf  than  to  ask  it  for  their  freshman  society. 
Yet,  after  all,  few  would  willingly  part  with  the  host  of 
conflicting  memories  reflected  in  the  halo  of  very  doubt 
ful  glory  which  encircles  its  name. 
6* 


CHAPTER  III. 
JUNIOR    SOCIETIES. 

Alpha  Delta  Phi  — Psi  Upsilon  —  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  — Badges, 
Vignettes  and  Mottoes— Catalogues,  Chapters  and  Membership 
— The  Death  of  Old  Chapters  and  the  Origin  of  New  Ones- 
Names  of  Prominent  Members— General  Conventions— Inter 
course  between  the  Chapters— Giving  out  Elections— Initiation 
—  Meetings  and  Exercises  —  Halls  —  Corporate  Titles— The 
Course  of  Politics  in  '69  (the  Freshman  Societies ;  the  Annual 
Jubilee  Committee  ;  the  Gamma-Nu-Delta-Phi  Embroglio  ;  the 
Cochs  and  "  Lit."  Editors)— The  Effect  upon  Delta  Phi— Agree 
ments  concerning  the  Freshmen— Real  Character  of  a  Coalition 
—The  Division  of  the  Spoils— The  Contested  Elections  of  Mem 
bers  —  Duration  of  Society  Influences — Comparison  of  the 
Societies. 

There  are  three  junior  societies,  and  they  are  the  only 
ones  ever  established  in  that  class, — a  fact  which  no 
other  year  can  boast  of.  The  Skull  and  Bones  of  senior 
year  is  the  only  class  society  which  has  the  advantage 
of  two  of  them  in  point  of  age.  And  these  two,  it  may 
be  remarked,  are  the  only  Yale  societies,  aside  from  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  which  originated  outside  of  the  college. 
"Alpha  Delta  Phi,"  which  was  founded  at  Hamilton 
College  in  1832,  established  four  years  later  its  "Yale" 
chapter,  which  was  the  eighth  in  order.  The  abbre 
viated  title  of  Delta  Phi  should  not  be  confounded  with 
the  society  of  that  name  which  exists  in  several  colleges. 
Outside  of  Yale,  Delta  Phi  is  always  spoken  of  as  Alpha 
Delt.  "  Psi  Upsilon,"  which  was  founded  at  Union  Col 
lege  in  1833,  established  its  third  ("Beta")  chapter  at 
Yale  in  1838.  The  name  is  always  shortened  to  Psi  U. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  107 

"  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon" — formerly  called  Delta  Kappa 
Eps,  but  now  invariably  DKE — was  founded  in  1844 
by  the  class  of  '46. 

The  badge  of  Delta  Phi  is  an  oblong  slab,  an  inch  in 
length,  with  rounded  corners,  displaying  on  a  ground 
work  of  black  enamel  a  white  crescent  surmounted  by  a 
green  star;  below  is  the  date  "1832,"  and  upon  the 
crescent  the  letters  "A  z/  0,"  both  in  gold.  The  wear 
ing  of  badges  of  this  sort  has  within  the  last  year  been 
mostly  abandoned,  in  favor  of  the  "  skeleton  pins," 
which  were  formerly  worn  by  none  but  Seniors  and 
graduates.  Of  these  pins  there  are  many  varieties. 
They  are  formed  of  the  star  and  crescent  simply,  and 
according  to  the  taste  or  wealth  of  the  individual  are 
made  either  of  plain  gold  and  enamel,  or  set  off  with 
pearls  and  precious  stones — an  emerald  in  the  center  of 
the  star  being  perhaps  the  favorite  one,  though  it  some 
times  gives  place  to  a  ruby,  amethyst,  or  diamond. 
Green  and  white  ribbons  are  sometimes  worn  in  the 
button  hole  as  society  colors.  The  wood-cut  vignette 
was  formerly  an  enlarged  representation  of  the  regular 
badge  pin,  and  there  have  been  several  different  pat 
terns,  but  the  one  now  commonly  employed  at  Yale  dis 
plays  a  plain  star  and  crescent  upon  a  dark  shield, 
crossed  behind  by  a  sword  and  spear,  supporting  below  the 
motto,  Matins  multcz,  cor  unum.  Above  the  shield  is  a 
ring  of  stars.  The  steel-plate  poster  is  the  same  design 
more  elaborated,  with  the  letters  indicated  upon  the 
crescent,  the  date  below  the  shield,  the  words  "  Alpha 
Delta  Phi,  Fraternity,"  and  the  name  of  the  chapter 
within  the  circle  of  stars.  The  Psi  U  badge  is  a  simple 
diamond-shaped  pin,  a  little  more  than  an  inch  in  length, 
displaying  upon  a  groundwork  of  black  enamel  the  sin 
gle  emblem  of  the  clasped  hands,  with  "f"  above  and 
"T"  below.  The  skeleton  pin  of  this  society  is  a  mon- 


loS  FOUR    YEARS  AT*  YALE. 

ogram  made  up  of  the  two  letters  which  compose  its 
name,  sometimes  ornamented  with  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  though  more  commonly  plain.  A  miniature 
copy  of  the  regular  diamond-shaped  badge,  ornamented 
with  pearls,  rubies,  etc.,  is  worn  by  some  members  of 
the  western  chapters,  though  not  authorized  by  the  soci 
ety.  The  common  vignette  is  an  enlarged  copy  of  the 
badge,  surmounted  by  a  peculiar  kind  of  scroll-work 
which  leave  the  date  "  1833."  Another  one  represents 
the  pin  surrounded  by  the  chapter  letters,  enclosed  in 
a  .wreath  of  oak  and  olive,  with  "  1833"  in  rays  above 
and  "  Fraternity"  upon  a  scroll  below.  The  seal  of  the 
society  represents  an  owl  grasping  a  fasces  bound 
together  by  the  motto,  Fit  via  vi.  A/Ofaf  udfhfov^  roiV 
dfofOwovs  qpiXotv,  was  the  motto  upon  the  title  page  of 
the  catalogue  of  1864.  The  DKE  pin  is  of  the  same 
size  and  shape  as  that  of  the  Psi  U.  Its  device  is  a 
white  scroll,  bearing  the  letters  "J  K  E" ;  below  is  the 
name  of  the  college  where  the  chapter  is  situated  ;  in 
each  angle  is  a  star  ;  the  groundwork  is  the  usual  black 
enamel.  The  skeleton  badge  consists  simply  of  the 
white  scroll  and  letters,  somewhat  enlarged.  At  first, 
the  vignette  was  simply  a  copy  of  the  badge,  but  an 
entirely  independent  design  was  afterwards  devised  as  a 
coat  of  arms,  and  this  has  since  formed  the  chief  part 
of  the  vignette  :  A  white  (argent)  central  shield — dis 
playing  a  rampant  lion,  a  pair  of  crossed  keys  and  an 
ear — is  surmounted  by  an  outer  shield,  divided  by  vari 
ous  cross  bars  and  chevrons,  with  the  colors  blue  (azure), 
red  (gules),  and  gold  (or),  indicated  in  the  regular  her 
aldic  manner.  An  open  eye  looks  forth  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  outer  shield,  and  a  pair  of  hearts,  one  on 
each  side,  are  joined  by  a  chain  which  sustains  at  the 
bottom  the  letter  or  letters  denoting  the  chapter.  In 
the  usual  vignette  this  double  shield  is  surmounted  by 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  109 

crossed  swords,  and  a  winged  globe  bearing  the  letters 
"J  K  E  " ;  while  the  motto,  Krgodtv  qil.oi  del,  figures  on 
a  scroll  beneath,  and  rays  of  light  set  off  the  whole  de 
sign.  There  are  several  variations  from  this  pattern,  but 
all  the  vignettes  agree  in  displaying  the  elaborate 
double- shield  design.  This  is  also  the  chief  device  in 
the  steel-plate  poster,  which  resembles  a  seal  or  medal 
— being  circular  in  shape  and  three  inches  in  diameter. 
The  motto  just  given  is  expressed  upon  the  upper  part 
of  the  encircling  band,  and  upon  the  lower,  within  a 
scroll,  are  the  letters  "J  K  E";  while  ornamental 
wreath-work  fills  the  space  between  the  shield  and  the 
band.  The  Delta  Phi  poster  is  the  only  one  often  seen 
at  Yale,  as  members  of  the  other  two  societies  prefer 
to  display  richly-framed  photographic  views  of  their  re 
spective  society  halls,  in  place  thereof.  The  regular 
pins  are  essentially  alike  in  all  the  chapters,  though 
different  manufacturers  may  slightly  vary  in  the  details 
of  their  workmanship.  P{ii  U's  badge  is  the  neatest  of 
the  three,  and  Delta  Phi's  the  ugliest.  As  for  the  skel 
eton  pin  of  the  latter,  it  would  hardly  be  taken  for  a 
society  badge  at  all,  but  rather  for  a  bit  of  ornamental 
jewelry.  Formerly,  when  the  slab  badge  only  was  worn 
by  the  active  members,  Delta  Phi  men  who  wrere  senior 
neutrals  very  generally  wore  the  skeleton,  and  a  few 
still  keep  up  the  practice.  Very  rarely,  too,  a  skeleton 
Psi  U  badge  may  be  noticed,  but  that  of  DKE  is  never 
seen  at  all.  Chapter  letters  of  gold,  attached  to  the 
main  badge  by  a  minute  chain,  in  the  manner  described 
for  the  freshman  societies,  are  worn  by  some  of  the 
Psi  U  and  DKE  men,  at  a  few  of  the  colleges,  though 
never  at  Yale.  Upon  the  backs  of  the  regular  badges 
are  engraved  the  .owner's  name  and  class  and  the 
peculiar  Greek  symbols  allotted  to  him,  together  with 
the  letter  of  the  chapter ;  and  in  the  case  of  Delta  Phi 


no  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  crossed  sword  and  spear  surmounting  a  sort  of  mon 
ument,  are  also  added.  Yale  Seniors  sometimes  wear 
their  junior  year  badges  in  such  a  position  upon  their 
vests  as  to  be  usually  concealed  from  sight ;  the  Juniors 
occasionally  wear  their  sophomore  pins  in  a  similar 
manner.  Monograms  of  the  society  letters,  carved  in 
black  walnut  or  other  suitable  wood,  are  sometimes  to 
be  seen  ;  and,  aside  from  what  has  been  mentioned, 
the  number  of  engraved  vignettes,  ornaments,  mono 
grams,  stamps  and  seals,  in  use  by  the  societies,  or  their 
separate  chapters,  is  quite  large.  Yale  men,  however, 
seldom  display  the  insignia  of  their  junior  societies  upon 
their  note  paper  and  envelopes. 

It  is  through  these  third-year  organizations  solely  that 
Yale  shares  in  the  general  system  of  secret  societies  that 
is  in  vogue  throughout  most  of  the  colleges.  Though 
there  are  other  important  chaptered  fraternities  existing 
in  American  colleges,  the  three  represented  at  Yale  are 
undoubtedly  the  leading  and  most  extensive  ones,  and  a 
few  statistical  facts  in  regard  to  them  may  not  be  with 
out  value.  The  last  catalogue  of  Delta  Phi  appeared  in 
June,  1870  ;  that  of  Psi  U  in  December'  of  the  same 
year ;  and  that  of  DKE  in  May  of  the  present  year. 
The  arrangement  is  similar  in  all  of  them  :  the  chapters 
standing  in  the  order  of  their  establishment ;  the  mem 
bers  alphabetically  by  classes  in  the  order  of  their 
graduation  ;  a  list  of  chapters  preceding,  and  an  alpha 
betical  list  of  members  following,  the  main  body  of  the 
catalogue.  In  this  index  are  given  the  class  and  chapter 
of  each  man,  so  that  his  residence,  symbols,  and  other 
facts  concerning  him  can  at  once  be  found  by  turning  to 
the  main  catalogue.  The  exact  signification  of  these 
symbols  is  not  generally  known  among  the  uninitiated  ; 
yet  it  can  do  no  harm  to  remark  that,  aside  from  being 
different  in  themselves,  they  are  used  by  each  society 
for  an  altogether  different  purpose. 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  1 1 1 

The  current  catalogue  of  Delta  Phi  comprises  287 
pages,  and  was  printed  by  Curtiss  &  Childs  of  Utica, 
N.  Y.  Its  title-page  is  surrounded  by  an  ornamental 
border  of  green  and  red,  and  is  faced  by  a  wood-cut 
frontispiece  representing  the  society  emblems.  Upon 
the  outside  of  its  green  paper  cover  is  a  wood-cut  mono 
gram  composed  of  the  initials  "A  A  <l> "  and  the  date 
"  1832."  The  last  preceding  catalogue  was  printed  by 
J.  H.  Benham  of  New  Haven,  in  1860,  and  comprised 
195  pages,  of  much  less  creditable  typography.  This 
society,  unlike  others,  confers  local  rather  than  Greek- 
letter  names  upon  its  chapters.  In  the  following  list  the 
name  first  given  is  that  of  the  chapter,  the  date  signifies 
the  year  or  class  in  which  it  was  founded,  and  the  final 
numeral  the  number  of  its  members  up  to  the  time  in 
1870  when  the  catalogue  was  issued : 

1.  Hamilton  ;  Hamilton  College,  Clinton,  N.  Y. ;  1832  ;  287. 

2.  Miami ;  Miami  University,  Oxford,  O.  ;  1834  ;  185. 

3.  *Urban;  NewYork  University,  N.Y.  City;  1835  (*diedi839);  24. 

4.  *Columbia;  Columbia  College,  N.Y.  City;  1836  (*died  1840);  32. 

5.  Amherst ;  Amherst  College,  Amherst,  Mass.  ;  1837;  331. 

6.  Krunonian  ;  Brown  University,  Providence,  R.  I.;  1837;  156. 

7.  *Harvard;  Harvard  Coll. .Cambridge,  Mass.;  1837  (*d. '65);  307. 

8.  Yale ;  Yale  College,  Nnv  Haven,  Conn.  ;  1837  ;  740. 

9.  Geneva;  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  N.  Y. ;  1838;  162. 

10.  Bowdoin;  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Me.  ;  1839;  182. 

11.  Hudson;  Western  Reserve  College,  Hudson,  O.  ;  1840;  138. 

12.  Peninsula  ;  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. ;  1845;  193. 

13.  Dartmouth  ;  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.  H, ;  1845  ;  273. 

14.  Rochester;  Rochester  University,  Rochester,  N.  Y.;  1851  ;  117. 

15.  Alabama;  Alabama  Univ.,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. ;  1851  (*d.  '59);  51. 

16.  Williams;  Williams  College,  Williamstovvn,  Mass.;  1851;  132. 

17.  Manhattan;  New  York  City-College,  N.  Y.  City;  1854  ;  138. 

18.  Middletown  ;  Wesleyan  Univ.,  Middletown,  Conn. ;  1855  ;  152. 

19.  Kenyon ;  Kenyon  College,  Gambier,  O.  ;  1858;  28. 

20.  Union  ;  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  1858  ;  84. 

21.  *Cumberland;  Cumberl'dUn.,  Lebanon,Tenn.;  i858(d.'6i);  27. 

22.  Cornell ;  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  ;  1870  ;  16. 


H2  POUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Deducting  from  the  membership  as  here  set  forth  about 
25  names  for  repetitions  and  35  for  honorary  members, 
and  a  total  of  3650  is  exhibited,  against  a  total  of  2300 
shown  by  the  catalogue  of  1860.  Delta  Phi  has  also 
four  alumni  associations,  or  "graduate  chapters":  at 
Cincinnati,  established  1846  ;  Cleveland,  1866  ;  Chicago, 
1867  ;  and  New  York,  1868. 

The  Psi  U  catalogue  was  published  "under  the  super 
vision  of  the  Beta  chapter/'  and  printed  by  Tuttle, 
Morehouse  &  Taylor,  and  comprises  233  pages.  A  tint- 
printed,  wood-cut  emblematical  vignette,  hinting  at  the 
significance  of  the  chapter  letter,  serves  as  a  frontispiece 
to  each  chapter,  while  the  frontispiece  to  the  main  work 
itself  consists  of  a  finely-executed  steel-plate  engraving, 
— designed  by  Gavit  &  Co.  of  Albany, — representing  a 
wall  and  archway,  ornamented  with  the  emblems  and 
insignia  of  the  society,  while  through  the  arch  is  seen 
the  rising  sun,  lighting  up  the  ocean  waves  as  they  dash 
upon  a  solitary  rock.  The  work  is  by  far  the  hand 
somest  one  of  the  sort  ever  issued  by  a  college  society. 
The  last  preceding  Psi  U  catalogue  was  printed  in 
March,  1864,  by  Baker  &  Godwin  of  New  York,  and 
comprised  207  pages.  The  arrangement  of  the  follow 
ing  list  of  chapters  corresponds  to  that  in  the  case  of 
Delta  Phi  : 

1.  Thcta;  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.  ;   1833  ;  275- 

2.  Delta  ;  New  York  University,  N.  Y.  City  ;  1836  ;  200. 

3.  Beta;  Yak  College,  New  liar  en,  Conn.;  1838;  750. 

4.  Sigma;  Drown  University,  Providence,  R.  I.  ;  1840;   180. 

5.  Gamma  ;  Amherst  College,  Amherst,  Mass.  ;  1841  ;  360. 

6.  Zeta;  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.  H.  ;  1842  ;  340. 

7.  Lambda  ;  Columbia  College,  N.  Y.  City;  1842  ;  220. 

8.  Kappa  ;  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Me.  ;  1842  ;  270. 

9.  Psi;  Hamilton  College,  Clinton:  N.  Y. ;  1843  ;  IS°- 

10.  Xi;  Wesleyah  University,  Middletown,  Conn. ;  1843*;  295. 

11.  Alpha;  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  1850;  105. 


THE  SOC1E  TY  SYSTEM.  1 1 3 

12.  Upsilon  ;  Rochester  University,  Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  1858  ;  100. 

13.  Iota;  Kenyon  College,  Gambier,  O. ;  1860;  64. 

14.  Phi ;  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.;  1865  ;  75. 

15.  Omega;  Chicago  University,  Chicago,  111.  ;  1869  ;  16. 

The  Theta  chapter  was  suspended  for  a  year  or.  two 
preceding  1865,  when  it  was  revived,  and  the  Delta 
chapter  has  also  been  once  or  twice  near  to  death's 
door,  while  the  Alpha  chapter,  killed  by  general  edict  of 
the  Harvard  faculty  in  1857,  was  revived  again  in  the 
class  of  '71.  Psi  U  therefore  possesses  the  distinction 
— which  neither  of  its  rivals,  and  probably  no  other 
similar  extended  fraternity  whatever,  can  boast  of — of 
being  burdened  with  no  dead  chapters.  Its  total  mem 
bership,  as  detailed  above,  foots  up  3400  names,  as 
against  2750  exhibited  in  the  catalogue  of  1864. 

The  DKE  catalogue,  "  apud  Phi  editum,  fraternitatis 
anno  XXVIL,"  was  printed  by  Tuttle,  Morehouse  & 
Taylor,  and  comprises  a  little  less  than  300  pages.  Its 
only  ornament  is  the  circular,  steel-plate  poster  before 
described,  which  serves  as  a  frontispiece.  Aside  from 
a  rather  improved  typography,  it  is  the  exact  counter 
part  of  the  catalogue  of  1867, — which  was  printed  by 
Thomas,  Howard  &  Johnson  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and 
comprised  259  pages, —  except  that  the  latter  exhibited 
the  society  emblems  printed  in  colors  upon  the  title- 
page.  The  last  preceding  catalogue,  printed  in  1858, 
by  J.  H.  Benham,  had  an  "allegorical"  steel-engraved 
frontispiece.  The  arrangement  of  the  following  list  of 
chapters  corresponds  with  that  before  employed : 

1.  Phi ;  Yale  College,  Nnv  Haven,  Conn, ;  1855  ;  746. 

2.  *Zeta;  Princeton  College,  Princeton,  N.  J.;  1845  (*d.  1857);  69. 

3.  Theta;  Bowcloin  College,  Brunswick,  Me.  ;  1845  ;  260. 

4.  Xi;  Colby  University/Waterville,  Me. ;  1845;  218. 

5.  Sigma;  Amherst  College,  Amherst,  Mass.;  1846;  344. 

6.  *Gamma;  Nashville  Univ.,  Nashville,  Tenn.;  1847  (*d.  '61);  66. 

7.  *Psi ;  Alabama  Univ.,  Tuscaloosa,  Ala. ;  1847  (*d.  1857) ;  82. 


H4  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

8.  Upsilon;  Brown  University,  Providence,  R.  I.;  1850;  144. 

9.  *Beta;  Univ.  No.  Carol'a,  Chapel  Hill,  N.C.;  1851  (*d.'62);  120. 

10.  Chi;  University  of  Mississippi,  Oxford,  Miss.  ;  1851;  168. 

1 1.  *Delta  ;  Coll.  of  So.  Carolina,  Columbia,  S.  C.;  1852  (*d.'6i);9o. 

12.  Kappa  ;  Miami  University,  Oxford,  O.  ;  1852  ;  125. 

13.  Eta  ;  University  of  Virginia,  Charlottesville,  Va.  ;  1852  ;   172. 

14.  Alpha  ;  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  1852  ;  66. 

15.  *Omega;  Oakland  College,  Oakland,  Miss.;  1852  (*d.  1861);  77. 

16.  Lambda  ;  Kenyon  College,  Gambier,  O.  ;  1852  ;  135. 

17.  Pi  ;  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.  H.  ;   1853  ;  247. 

1 8.  *Iota  ;  Kentucky  Mil.  Inst.,  Frankfort,  Ky.;  1854  (*d.  1860);  35. 

19.  Alpha  (prime)  ;  Middlebury  Coll.,  Middlebury,Vt.;  1855  ;  100. 

20.  Omicron  ;  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.  ;  1855  ;  179. 

21.  Epsilon  ;  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Mass.  ;  1855;   102. 

22.  Nu;    New  York  City-College,  N.  Y.  City;  1856;  155. 

23.  Tau  ;  Hamilton  College,  Clinton,  N.  Y.  ;  1856;  in. 

24.  Mu  ;  Madison  University,  Hamilton,  N.  Y.  ;  1856;  133. 

25.  Rho  ;  Lafayette  College,  Easton,  Penn.  ;  1856;  100. 

26.  Beta-Phi;  Rochester  University,    Rochester,  X.  Y.  ;  1856;  96. 

27.  *Theta-Chi ;  Union  Coll.,Schenectady,  N.Y.;  1857  (*d.'69);  100. 

28.  Kappa-Psi ;  Cumberland  Univ.,  Lebanon,  Tenn.  ;  1857  ;  92. 

29.  *Zeta  (prime);  Centenary  Coll.,  Jackson,  La.;  1857  (*d. '62);  46. 

30.  *AlphavDelta;  Jefferson  Coll., Canonsb'g,  Pa.;  1858  (*d. '65);  38. 

31.  *Tau-Delta;  UnionUniv.,  Murfreesb'o,Tenn.;  1860  (*d.'6i);  u. 

32.  *Kappa-Phi ;  TroyUniversity,  Troy,  N.Y. ;  1861  (*d.  1862) ;  23. 

33.  Phi-Chi;  Rutgers   College,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. ;  1861  ;  57. 

34.  Psi-Phi ;  Asbury  University,  Greencastle,  Ind.  ;  1866;  40. 

35.  Gamma-Phi ;  Wesleyan  Univ.,  Middletown,  Conn. ;  1867  ;  61. 

36.  Psi-Omega;  Rensselaer  Polytech.  Inst.,  Troy,  N.Y. ;  1868;  25. 

37.  Beta-Chi ;  Western  Reserve  College,  Hudson,  O.  ;  1868;  23. 

38.  Eta-Alpha;  Washington-Lee  Univ.,  Lexington,  Va.;  1868;  55. 

39.  Delta-Chi;  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. ;  1869;  16. 

40.  Delta  (prime);  Chicago  University,  Chicago,  111.;   1870;  23. 

The  total  membership  of  DKE  thus  appears  to  be 
about  475°:  as  against  3800  in  1867,  and  2000  in 
1858.  At  the  latter  date  it  possessed  29  chapters,  as 
against  its  present  40,  though  it  will  be  noticed  that  a 
dozen  of  these  are  dead.  The  war  stopped  most  of  the 
Southern  chapters,  and  interrupted  one  or  two  which 
were  revived  at  its  close.  The  Alpha- Delta  chapter  had 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  1 15 

its  charter  withdrawn  by  order  of  the  fraternity.  The 
Zeta  was  killed  by  the  general  decree  of  the  Princeton 
faculty  in  1857.  The  same  year,  the  similar  decree  of 
the  Harvard  faculty  put  the  Alpha  chapter  under  the 
ban,  but  it  has  nevertheless  continued  to  exist  in  secret, 
as  a  sophomore  club,  and  its  delegates  have  always  been 
recognized  at  the  annual  conventions,  though  its  mem 
bers  do  not,  while  at  Cambridge,  \vear  the  society  badge, 
nor  have  their  names  printed  in  the  society  catalogue. 

Delta  Phi  also  secretly  kept  up  its  existence  at  Har 
vard  until  1865,  when  the  organization  now  known  as 
the  "A.  D.  Club"— to 'which  most  of  the  DKE  Soph 
omore  are  admitted  in  junior  year — was  established 
upon  its  ruins.  Of  course  these  "  new  Alpha  Deltas," 
as  Tom  Hughes  calls  them  in  his  sketch,  are  not  recog 
nized  by  the  fraternity,  and  themselves  make  no  pre 
tence  of  being  connected  with  it.  The  names  of  the 
Harvard  men  who  belonged  to  Delta  Phi  after  the  sup 
pression  were  not  inserted  in  the  catalogue  of  1860,  but 
appeared  in  the  catalogue  of  1870,  as  their  classes  had 
then  all  safely  graduated, — the  last  one,  as  before  re 
marked,  being  that  of  '65.  The  Psi  U  catalogue  con 
tains  the  names  of  no  Harvard  men  later  than  the  class 
of  '57,  because  the  society  then  gave  up  the  ghost,  in 
obedience  to  the  faculty's  edict,  and  the  class  in  which 
it  was  recently  reestablished  has  not  yet  graduated. 
The  names  of  graduated  members  will  appear  in  future 
catalogues,  however.  The  DKE  catalogue  contains  the 
names  of  no  Harvard  men  belonging  to  it  after  the  sup 
pression,  because  the  club  became  too  informal  and  dis 
organized  to  keep  any  records  or  lists  of  its  members. 
Latterly  the  chapter  has  approached  somewhat  to  a 
formal  organization,  and  probably  the  names  of  recently 
graduated  members  will  appear  in  the  next  catalogue. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  improbable  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 


n6  FOUR    YEARS  AT    YALE. 

years  the  "  Greek  letter  societies  "  may  be  allowed  to 
exist  as  openly  at  Harvard  as  at  most  other  colleges, 
since,  under  the  more  liberal  administration  recently 
introduced  there,  their  existence  is  more  than  winked  at 
already. 

A  comparison  of  the   list  shows   the  three  societies 
existing  as  rivals  in  ten  colleges  outside  of  Yale,  name 
ly:  Amherst,  Bowdoin,  Brown,  Dartmouth,    Hamilton, 
Kenyon,  Michigan,  Rochester,  Union,  and   Wesleyan- 
Delta  Phi  and  DKE  in  addition  are  rivals  at  Cornell, 
Miami,    N.    Y.    City  -  College,    Western    Reserve,    and 
Williams ;  and  were  formerly  at  Alabama  and  Cumber 
land  ;  while  Psi  U  and  DKE  in  addition  are  rivals  at 
Chicago,  Harvard,  and   N.   Y.   University.     The  Yale 
chapter  of  each  society  is  its  largest,  though  not,  except 
in  the  case  of  DKE,  its   most   important  or  controlling 
one.     The  parent  chapter  of  Psi  U  is  its  weakest,  and 
that  of  Delta  Phi   is   by  no   means  its  best,  and  no  one 
chapter  is  allowed  any  preponderance  of  influence  in 
either   fraternity  ;   but   the   original  DKE  is  so   much 
superior  to  any  one  of  its  many  branches  that  it  still 
exercises  its  parental  control  over  them  all,  and  while 
nominally  deferring  to  their  wishes,  retains  in  itself  the 
chief  executive  power.     At  Yale  the  real  rivalry  for  the 
first   place  is  between  this  society  and  Psi  U,   but  at 
almost  all  the  other  colleges  where  the  three  exist  DKE 
holds  the  lowest  rank.     There  are  of  course  many  other 
local  and  chaptered  societies  in  other  colleges  which 
dispute  the  ground  with  these  three ;  and  many  which 
once  existed  have  either  wholly,  or  in  the  case  of  par 
ticular  chapters,  become  absorbed  in  them.     Thus,  the 
lota  chapter  of  a  western  college  society  called  "  Beta 
Theta  Pi'Swas  changed  into  the  Phi  of  Psi  U  at  Mich 
igan,   and   the   Beta   chapter   of  the   same   society  at 
Western  Reserve  became  the  Beta-Chi  of  DKE.     Not 


THE  SO CIE TY  SYS TEM.  1 1 7 

unlikely  the  society  may  have  been  the  source  of  some 
Delta  Phi  chapter  also,  and  perhaps  some  of  its 
branches  still  exist  as  rivals  of  the  two  last  mentioned 
societies.  On  the  other  hand,  none  of  the  chapters  of 
these  three  societies  have  ever  deserted  from  them,  or 
attempted  to  reorganize  under  another  standard. 

An  examination  of  the  three  catalogues  brings  to  light 
a  good  many  more  or  less  notable  names.  There  are 
college  professors  and  tutors,  doctors  of  divinity  and  of 
medicine,  judges,  lawyers  and  reverends,  generals,  con 
gressmen  and  honorables,  almost  without  number,  who 
formerly  sported  the  badges  of  these  societies.  Among 
Yale  Delta  Phi  men  may  be  mentioned  :  Rev.  Dr.  J.  P. 
Thompson  of  '38,  Prevost  C.  J.  Stille  and  Prof.  J.  D. 
Whitney  of  '39,  D.  G.  Mitchell  and  B.  G.  Northrop  of 
'41  [the  names  of  Gen.  W.  T.  S.  Barry  of  Mississippi, 
Maunsell  B.  Field  of  New  York,  and  several  others,  are 
included  in  the  Delta  Phi  list  of  '41,  though  they  revolted 
from  that  society  and  were  among  the  founders  of  Psi 
U],  W.  L.  Kingsley  of  '43,  editor  of  the  New  Englander, 
Gen.  Dick  Taylor  of  '45,  H.  T.  Blake  of  '48,  founder  of 
the  Wooden  Spoon,  Prof.  D.  C.  Oilman  of  '52,  G.  W. 
Smalley  of  '53,  G.  M.  Towle  of  '6 1,  and  Others.  Alfred 
B.  Street  belonged  to  the  Hamilton  chapter ;  Gov.  Den- 
nison  of  Ohio  and  U.  S.  Senator  Pugh  to  the  Miami ; 
Horace  Maynard  of  Tennessee  and  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs, 
Jr.,  of  Brooklyn  to  the  Amherst ;  Senator  Jenckes,  the 
advocate  of  civil  service  reform,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Samson, 
president,of  Columbia  College,  to  the^Brunonian  ;  James 
Russell  Lowell,  Rev.  E.  E  Hale,  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothing- 
ham,  and  F.  B.  Sanborn  of  the  Springfield  Republican, 
to  the  Harvard  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Hale,  president  of  Hobart 
College,  to  the  Geneva ;  Gov.  Goodwin  of  New  Hamp 
shire  to  the  Bowdoin  ;  Manton  M.  Marble  of  the  N.  Y. 
World  to  the  Rochester ;  Prof.  A.  W.  Perry  to  the  \Vil- 


u8  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

liams  ;  Russell  Sturgis,  Jr.,  to  the  Manhattan  ;  Ngan 
Yoong  Kiung  of  Shanghai,  and  Oronhyatehka  of  Can 
ada,  to  the  Kenyon.  Chief  Justice  Chase,  Rev.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Rev.  Dr.  Ray  Palmer,  Prof.  Elias  Loomis, 
and  Cassius  M.  Clay,  are  among  the  honorary  members 
of  this  society. 

Taking  up  the  Psi  U  catalogue,  among  the  Yale 
members  may  be  noticed  :  Rev.  H.  M.  Dexter  of  '40, 
editor  of  the  Boston  Congregationalist,  Henry  Stevens  of 
'43,  F.  S,  A.,  Senator  O.  S.  Ferry  of  '44,  Col.  E.  G. 
Parker  of  '47,  Dwight  Foster  of  '48,  attorney  general  of 
Massachusetts,  C.  G.  Came  of  '49,  editor  of  the  Boston 
Journal,  Champion  Bissell  of  '50,  publisher  of  the 
American  (Whig)  Review,  Andrew  D.  White  of  '53,  pres 
ident  of  Cornell  University,  Chauncey  M.  Depew  of  '56, 
N.  Y.  secretary  of  state,  A.  Van  Name  of  '58,  college 
librarian,  Engene  Schuyler  of  '59,  U.  S.  Consul  at 
Moscow,  and  Wilbur  R.  Bacon  of  '65,  Yale's  most 
famous  oarsman.  At  Union,  are  found  Mayor  Alexan 
der  A.  H.  Rice  of  Boston,  Frederick  W.  Seward,  assistant 
secretary  of  state,  and  A.  C.  Davis,  Kansas  attorney 
general ;  at  N.  Y.  University,  George  W.  Schuyler, 
State  treasurer,  and  William  Allen  Butler ;  at  Brown, 
Lieut.  Gov.  Arnold  of  Rhode  Island  ;  at  Amherst, 
Galusha  A.  Grow  of  Pennsylvania,  E.  M.  Wright,  Mass, 
secretary  of  state  (and,  as  honorary  members,  John  G. 
Saxe,  E.  P.  Whipple  and  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland)  ;  at  Dart 
mouth,  Amos  T.  Akerman,  U.  S.  attorney  general,  and 
W.  H.  Bartlett,  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  New  Hamp 
shire  ;  at  Hamilton,  Gov.  J.  R.  Hawley  of  Connecticut 
and  C.  D.  Warner  of  the  Hartford  Courani;  at  Harvard, 
Profs.  Goodwin  and  Gurney ;  and  at  Kenyon,  James 
Kent  Stone,  "  the  youngest  college  president." 

Among  DKE  men  at  Yale  may  be  noticed  :  Charlton 
T.  Lewis  of  '53,  editor  of  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Posf,  Maj. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  1 19 

Gen.  J.  W.  Swayne  of  '56,  Brig.  Gen.  J.  T.  Croxton  and 
Prof.  Cyrus  Northrop  of  '57,  Dr.  D.  G.  Brinton  of  '58, 
Joseph  W.  Shipley  and  Edward  R.  Sill,  of  '61,  and 
Dorsey  Gardner  of  '64;  at  Colby  University,  J.  H. 
Drummond,  attorney  general  of  Maine;  at  Ainherst, 
Gen.  Francis  A.  Walker,  of  the  statistical  and  census 
bureau  at  Washington  ;  at  Harvard,  John  Quincy 
Adams,  Jr.,  Edward  S.  Rand,  Jr.,  and  Howard  M. 
Ticknor.  DKE's  best-known  men — Rear  Admiral  Foote, 
General  Burnside,  Vice  President  Colfax,  Bayard  Taylor, 
Nathaniel  P.  Banks,  John  R.  Thompson — are  all  honor 
ary  members,  elected  as  such  on  account  of  their  noto 
riety.  Though  this  society  possesses  the  largest  mem 
bership,  the  number  of  names  in  its  catalogue  that  are 
even  locally  well-known  is  much  smaller  than  is  the 
case  either  with  Delta  Phi  or  Psi  U. 

Each  society  holds  every  year  a  general  convention  of 
all  its  chapters,  which  as  a  rule  are  each  represented  by 
two  or  three  delegates.  The  exercises  usually  consist  in 
the  delivery  of  an  oration  and  poem,  by  graduate — and, 
if  possible,  distinguished — members  of  the  society,  to 
which  the  public  are  admitted ;  and  the  transaction  of 
business  by  the  delegates,  in  private.  The  convention 
lasts  for  two  days  and  winds  up  with  a  supper.  It  is 
held  with  each  chapter  in  succession,  except  the  very 
distant  or  the  weakest  ones.  The  presiding  officer  of  the 
DKE  convention  is  always  a  Yale  man ;  in  the  case  of 
the  other  societies,  a  member  of  the  chapter  with  which 
the  convention  is  held.  It  has  been  mentioned  in  the 
first  chapter  that  at  all  other  colleges  except  Dartmouth 
the  societies  draw  their  members  from  all  the  four 
classes.  The  exception  at  Harvard  has  been  noticed, 
and  at  some  of  the  other  colleges  also  the  freshman  and 
sophomore  members  are  not  allowed  to  display  their 
badges, — except  when  absent  from  the  university  town, 


J20  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

— nor  to  have  their  names  printed  with  the  others  in  the 
public  lists.      When  a  Freshman  or   Sophomore,  who 
has  become  a  member  of  one  of  the  societies  at  some 
other  college,  enters  Yale,  he  does  not  become  an  active 
member  of  the  chapter  until  the  time  when  the  society 
is  given  into  the  hands  of  his  own  class.     Previous  to 
this  his  name  is  not  published,  in  the  list  of  members, 
neither  is  he  expected  to  display  his  badge,  nor  to  attend 
the  society  meetings  unless  specially  invited  by  upper- 
class  men.     Most  of  the  other  chapters  are  more  secret 
than  those  at  Yale.     At  some  colleges  the   songs  are 
never  sung  outside  the  hall,  neither  are  the  places  and 
times  of  meeting  generally  known,  nor  the  societies  in 
any  way  mentioned  to  the  uninitiated.     A  fancy  which 
Yale  men  sometimes  have  for  displaying  the  splendors 
of  their  society  halls  to  their  lady  friends  is  peculiarly 
horrifying  to  the  other  chapters.     Not  that  the  practice 
is  much  in  vogue,  but  the  few  cases  of  it   which  occur 
are  winked  at  by  the  societies,   on  the  theory  that   the 
dear  creatures  comprehend  too  little  of  the  mysteries 
which  they  behold  to  make  any  damaging  revelations, 
even  were  they  so  inclined.     Every  chapter  gladly  enter 
tains  the  representatives  of  every  other  chapter,  when 
ever  it  chances  upon  them  ;  but  though  Yale  members 
always  accord  welcome  to  the  others,  they  are  not  always 
anxious  to   claim  it  in  return,  and   sometimes  when  in 
the  neighborhood  of  other  colleges  are  inclined  to  fight 
shy  of  their  brethren  there  resident.     Yale  DKE  men 
in  many  cases  do  not  wear  their  badges  in  the  vicinity 
of  certain  of  their  chapters,  of  the  extended  numbers 
of  which  they  are  heartily  ashamed.     A  report,  which 
was  perhaps  meant  for  a  joke,  used  to  prevail  about  col 
lege  to  the  effect  that  DKE  raised  some  of  the  money 
to  pay  for  its  hall  by  selling  charters  to  all  applicants 
who  would  give  fifty  dollars  apiece  for  them.     However 


7  'HE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  1 2  I 

this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  great  number  of  its 
chapters  is  the  chief  source  of  its  weakness  as  a  fra 
ternity.  In  the  case  of  Psi  U,  also,  were  the  first  two 
and  last  two  stricken  from  its  list  of  fifteen  chapters,  its 
power  and  influence  would  be  nearly  doubled.  A  Yale 
Psi  U  man  likewise,  occasionally  conceals  his  badge  in 
localities  where  the  wearing  it  does  not  confer  much 
honor,  and  exposes  him  to  the  danger  of  being 
"  brother-ed" — a  word  which  in  his  view  would  hardly 
change  in  significance  by  the  omission  of  its  second 
letter.  There  is  very  little  sentiment  wasted  upon  one 
another  by  the  Yale  members  of  these  societies,  yet 
their  friendship  is  probably  not  weakened  by  its  omis 
sion. 

The  elections  to  the  junior  societies  are  given  out  to 
the  Sophomores  upon  Tuesday  evening,  and  the  initia 
tions  are  held  two  weeks  and  a  half  later,  upon  the 
evening  of  the  Friday  which  precedes  Presentation  Day. 
The  sophomore-society  initiations  always  occur  before 
this, — usually  on  the  preceding  Wednesday  or  Friday, 
— and  in  the  interval  all  the  Sophomores  seem  to  be 
neutrals,  for  all  alike  are  badgeless.  The  mode  of 
giving  out  elections  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  sopho 
more  societies,  already  described,  but  as  there  are  only 
two  classes,  instead  of  three,  to  engage  in  the  work, 
everything  is  more  orderly  and  respectable.  The  elec 
tions  are  offered  and  congratulations  exchanged,  in  a 
sober  and  gentlemanly  way,  before  any  movement  is 
made  toward  the  eatables.  There  are  rarely  any  dis 
plays  of  greediness  or  rowdyism.  There  is  less  of 
noise  and  excessive  drinking.  But  Sophomores  are  apt 
to  get  together  after  receiving  their  elections  and  "  cele 
brate  "  the  event,  much  after  the  manner  of  the  year 
before.  Election  cards,  too,  are  distributed  ;  the  initia 
tion  fee  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  is  collected  by 


122  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

one  of  their  own  number  ;  and  the  members  are  in 
dividually  summoned  in  writing  to  be  present  at  a 
particular  college  room  at  a  certain  hour  on  the  evening 
of  initiation  ; — all  after  the  old  custom.  This  time, 
however,  the  members  elect  are  conducted  to  the  hall 
in  a  body,  and  initiated  without  perceptible  uproar. 
It  is  generally  understood  in  advance  among  them  that 
the  ceremony  is  only  a  formal  one,  yet  most  men  prob 
ably  feel  a  trifle  nervous  about  the  matter,  up  to  the 
moment  when  the  mystery  is  revealed  to  them.  Then 
come  the  oration  and  poem  and  display  of  theatricals, 
and  finally  the  supper.  Like  the  old  Sigma  Phi  initia 
tion  suppers,  this  used  on  some  former  occasions  to  be 
served  in  a  hotel  dining-room,  instead  of  in  the  society 
hall  as  now.  The  Psi  U  initiation  exercises  generally 
close  the  earliest,  at  about  two  o'clock  ;  the  DKE  the 
latest,  at  about  daybreak.  The  badges,  engraved  with 
the  new  members'  names,  etc.,  are  provided  in  advance 
by  the  society, — the  initiation  fees  covering  the  cost  of 
them, — and  are  "swung  out  "next  day.  The  same  is 
true  in  the  sophomore  societies. 

The  regular  meetings  are  held  every  Tuesday  even 
ing,  beginning  at  nine  or  ten  and  ending  at  midnight 
or  later.  In  old  times  the  hour  of  meeting  was  publicly 
announced,  by  posting  upon  the  trees  in  the  college 
yard  large  cards  upon  which  were  the  society  vignette 
and  a  printed  or  written  numeral  which  signified  the 
hour  of  meeting.  This  custom  was  also  observed  by 
the  sophomore  and  even  the  freshman  societies.  The 
exercises  are  of  a  more  varied  character  than  those  of 
the  societies  of  the  two  preceding  years,  and  comprise 
features  from  both  of  them.  There  is  less  formality 
about  the  literary  part  of  them  than  in  freshman  year, 
and  less  prominence  to  their  "social  "  features  than  in 
the  sophomore  societies.  There  are  music  and  dancing 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEAL  1 2  3 

as  well  as  singing,  and  of  course  smoking,  and  card 
playing  and  occasional  suppers.  At  the  close  of  their 
meetings,  each  society  marches  in  a  body  to  the  college 
yard,  singing  its  songs  on  the  way,  and  after  giving 
forth  some  additional  strains  from  a  particular  ren 
dezvous  therein,  disbands.  Psi  U's  station  is  in  front  of 
the  Lyceum  building,  where,  just  before  disbanding,  it 
always  ends  up  its  final  song,  to  the  tune  of  "In  a  few 
days,"  with  the  chorus,  "  Hurrah  !  'rah !  'rah  !  'rah  ! 
Psi  U  !  Psi  U  !— Hurrah  !  'rah  !  'rah  !  'rah  !  Psi  Up- 
si/tf///"  DKE  always  marches  through  Trumbull  Gal 
lery,  and  the  south  entry  of  North  College,  in  front  of 
which,  after  singing  an  additional  song  or  two,  it  dis 
bands  with  the  cheer :  "  Hurrah !  'rah  !  'rah  !  D  !  K !  E  !" 
One  of  its  outdoor  choruses  to  the  tune  of  "  All  on  a 
summer's  clay," — very  popular  in  the  society  during 
1867-8, — was  the  best  marching  song  known  at  the  time 
in  college.  It  closed  with  a  "  Slap  !  bang  !  here  we  are 
again,  in  jolly  DKE."  Delta  Phi's  most  characteristic 
melody  was  to  the  tune  of  the  "  Old  oaken  bucket," — 
but  of  late  years  this  society  has  seldom  sung  any  of 
its  songs  in  public.  DKE  on  its  homeward  march 
sometimes  finds  that  the  doors  of  North  College  have 
been  barred  against  it  by  neutrals  or  under-class  men, 
and  is  then  obliged  to  pass  around  instead  of  through 
the  building  before  giving  its  final  cheer.  The  foregoing 
remarks,  like  the  similar  ones  concerning  the  singing  of 
sophomore  societies,  though  expressed  in  the  present, 
relate  to  the  past,  as  the  societies,  obeying  the  edict  of 
the  faculty,  sing  no  more,  and  disperse  without  ceremony 
of  any  sort. 

The  attendance  upon  the  meetings  is  more  regular 
than  in  the  case  of  the  sophomore  societies.  Some  of 
the  Seniors  are  almost  always  present,  and  on  special 
occasions  nearly  all  of  them  attend,  and  perhaps  take 


124  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

part  in  the  exercises.  These  occasions,  aside  from 
initiation  night,  are  when  the  representatives  of  other 
chapters  are  present  in  force,  in  response  to  a  regular 
invitation.  At  such  times  the  society  of  course  tries  to 
appear  at  its  best,  and  the  festivities  are  often  prolonged 
until  nearly  daybreak.  Perhaps  the  entire  assembly  of 
seventy-five  or  more,  inarch  through  the  streets  in  pro 
cession,  singing  their  society  songs  before  the  young 
ladies'  boarding  schools,  by  way  of  serenade,  or  shout 
ing  them  forth  beneath  the  college  windows.  Next 
morning,  too,  very  likely  the  guests  may  be  invited  to 
attend  chapel  prayers,  and  be  seated  together  in  the 
galleries,  where  the  best  looking  of  them  may  act  as 
"electioneering  arguments"  upon  the  unpledged  under 
class  men  who  gaze  up  from  below.  Outside  members 
who  chance  to  visit  town  without  formal  invitation  arc 
likewise  sure  of  good  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Yale 
men.  Old  graduates  come  more  frequently  to  the  hall 
than  in  the  case  of  the  under-class  societies,  though 
generally  only  by  special  invitation  of  the  society  or  an 
active  member  of  it.  The  night  before  Commencement 
is  the  time  when  many  of  them  meet  together  there,  to 
talk  over  the  old  experiences  and  perhaps  partake  of 
some  refreshments  provided  for  the  occasion. 

The  hall  of  Delta  Phi  is  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
block  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Chapel  and  State 
streets,  opposite  the  building  wherein  the  Sigma  Kps 
hall  used  to  be.  It  was  newly  fitted  up  in  1867,  and 
was  said  at  that  time  to  be  the  finest  lodge  room 
possessed  by  any  chapter  of  the  fraternity.  As  the 
Williams  chapter  has  since  then  erected  a  $10,000  hall 
of  its  own,  this  can  be  no  longer  true,  though  the  hall  is 
undoubtedly  a  good  one.  It  is  protected  without  by  a 
ponderous  iron  door,  and  current  report  adds  a  billiard 
table  to  its  other  inner  attractions.  The  other  two 


THE  SO CIE  TY  S YSTEM.  125 

societies  possess  halls  of  their  own.  That  of  Psi  U  is 
on  High  street,  a  few  steps  from  the  north-west  corner 
of  the  college  yard.  It  was  taken  possession  of  on  the 
first  of  May,  1870,  having  been  about  seven  months  in 
process  of  erection.  It  has  a  front  of  26  feet,  a  depth 
of  66  feet,  is  about  40  feet  high,  and  stands  upon  a  lot 
whose  dimensions  are  40  by  70  feet.  The  material 
of  the  front  is  red  pressed  brick,  inlaid  with  ornamental 
work  in  black, — one  pattern  running  across  just  above 
the  freestone  foundation,  another  at  the  top  of  the 
entrance  way,  and  a  third  just  below  the  cornice  of  the 
roof.  This  is  a  Mansard,  slated,  and  surmounted  by  an 
ornamental  iron  railing,  which  connects  and  partly  con 
ceals  the  two  short  chimneys  which  project  at  its  ex 
tremities.  Above  the  entrance  is  an  arched  window, 
the  keystone  of  which  bears  the  chapter  letter,  "/?." 
The  entrance  and  the  arch  above  it  make  a  slight  pro 
jection  from  the  front,  and  so  a  gable  above  the  arch 
breaks  the  uniformity  of  the  roof.  The  roof  cornices 
and  the  massive  doorway  are  of  light  Nova  Scotia  stone, 
and  freestone  is  the  material  of  the  half-dozen  steps 
which  lead  up  to  it.  In  relief,  upon  the  inner  slab 
which  surmounts  the  doors,  are  the  letters,  "  "<K  T." 
The  doors  themselves  are  of  solid  oak,  though  these  will 
doubtless  in  time  give  place  to  iron  ones.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  building,  near  its  front,  is  a  second  arched 
window,  covered  like  the  ornamental  one  in  front  with  a 
brown  lattice-blind.  There  are  two  other  square  win 
dows  in  the  rear,  protected  by  close  black  shutters. 
There  is  also  a  rear  entrance  to  the  basement,  and  two 
full-length  basement  windows,  as  well  as  half-a-dozen 
scuttle-windows  upon  either  side,  all  of  which  are  pro 
tected  by  iron  bars.  The  other  windows  mentioned  are 
all  in  the  second  story,  and  in  the  roof  is  a  large  sky 
light  of  thick,  ground  glass,  which  looks  in  upon  the  main 


126  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

theater  or  exhibition  hall.  The  usual  assembly  room  is 
on  the  lower  floor,  and  there  are  various  small  apart 
ments  above  and  below.  Ventilation  is  secured  by 
double  walls  and  other  special  appliances,  and  the 
building  is  heated  by  furnace,  supplied  with  water,  and 
lighted  by  gas.  David  R.  Brown  was  the  architect ;  the 
masonry  was  superintended  by  Lyman  Treat,  and  the 
carpentry  by  William  Judd.  The  whole  property  must 
have  cost  some  $15,000,  and  is  probably  not  yet  more 
than  two-thirds  paid  for.  For  a  year  or  more  before  the 
work  was  begun,  the  society  owned  the  stucco  house  next 
beside  the  Divinity  College  on  College  street,  and  in 
tended  to  refit  and  occupy  it  for  its  own  uses,  but  finally 
decided  to  build  the  present  hall  instead.  Previous  to 
this,  Psi  U  had  occupied  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  a  hall  in  Townsend's  Block,  corner  of  Chapel 
and  College  streets,  where,  since  1864,  the  hall  of  Beta 
Xi  had  been,  close  beside  it.  This  society,  since  Psi 
U's  departure,  has  added  the  vacated  hall  to  its  own, 
and  now  controls  the  entire  upper  floor  of  the  block. 
Psi  U's  first  lodge  room  was  identical  as  to  locality 
with  the  present  one  of  Delta  Phi.  At  Middletown,  the 
society  is  said  to  be  constructing  a  $10,000  freestone 
hall  of  its  own,  upon  a  corner  of  the  college  grounds ; 
and  at  Amherst  it  holds  a  long  lease  on  the  two  upper 
stories  of  the  large  block  containing  its  hall,  and  rents 
the  rooms,  which  surround  the  hall,  only  as  lodgings  for 
Psi  U  students.  The  DKE  hall  is  on  York  street,  near 
the  corner  of  Elm.  It  was  built  in  1861,  chiefly  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Henry  Holt  of '62,  who  advanced 
the  money  for  the  work.  This  lot  on  which  the  build 
ing  stands  perhaps  measures  30  by  60  feet,  and  the 
hall  itself  has  a  front  of  24  feet  6  inches,  a  depth  of 
45  feet,  and  is  perhaps  35  feet  in  hight.  Its  material 
is  common  brick,  and  the  only  ornamental  work — aside 


THE  SOCIE TY  SYSTEM.  1 2  7 

from  the  trimmings  in  front,  made  of  wood  in  imitation 
of  stone — is  the  slab  of  brown  sandstone  above  the 
entrance  whereon  are  carved  the  letters,  "  A.  K.  E." 
The  door  at  the  entrance  is  of  iron,  and  just  above  it  is 
the  chapter  letter,  "  </>."  There  are  no  windows,  save 
the  skylights  in  the  flat,  tin  roof,  from  the  edges  of 
which  project  several  ventilators  and  short  chimneys. 
Inside,  the  building  is  of  course  divided  into  two  stories 
and  several  different  apartments.  Seen  from  without, 
the  hall  has  an  attractively  mysterious  look  to  an  under 
class  man,  though  its  appearance  is  much  inferior  to 
that  of  the  Psi  U  structure.  The  present  value  of  the 
property  is  probably  about  $8000,  and  the  payment  of 
$1500,  instead  of  the  annual  ground  rent  hitherto 
claimed  by  the  owner,  is  all  that  is  now  needed  to  vest 
the  title  wholly  in  the  society. 

The  holding  of  real  estate  by  these  societies  is  ren 
dered  possible  by  the  organization  of  "  trust  associa 
tions,"  composed  of  resident  graduate  members,  who 
fulfil  the  duties  of  trustees,  and  receive  no  compensation 
for  their  services.  Psi  U  was  incorporated  by  the  Con 
necticut  Legislature,  at  its  May  session  of  1862,  when 
"James  H.  Trumbull  [of  '42,  Conn.  Sec.  of  State], 
Henry  E.  Pardee  [of  '56],  and  Simeon  E.  Baldwin  [of 
'61],  with  all  such  other  persons  as  might  be  from  time 
to  time  associated  with  them,  together  with  their  suc 
cessors,"  were  "  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate, 
by  the  name  of  the  'Trumbull  Trust  Association/  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  improve 
ment  and  culture  of  its  members  ;  and  by  said  name" 
were  to  "  have  perpetual  succession  and  be  capable  in 
law  to  purchase,  receive,  hold  and  convey  real  and 
personal  estate" — not  exceeding  a  certain  amount  in 
value  ;  "  to  sue  and  be  sued,  implead  and  be  impleaded, 
defend  and  be  defended,"  and  so  forth.  The  "Win- 


128  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

throp  Trust  Association,"  incorporated  three  years  later 
and  consisting  of  Edward  I.  Sanford  of  '47,  Cyrus 
Northrop  of  '57,  Robert  S.  Ives  of '64,  Daniel  C.  Chap 
man  and  George  C.  Holt  of  '66,  with  their  associates, 
and  so  on,  is  the  legal  style  of  DKE.  It  is  named  in 
honor  of  the  most  famous  member  of  the  society,  Theo 
dore  Winthrop  of  '48.  It  is  supposed  that  Delta  Phi 
is  as  yet  unincorporated. 

Upon  the  junior  societies  at  Yale,  as  at  present  organ 
ized,  hinges  the  entire  system  of  college  politics.  The  elec 
tion  of  the  nine  "  Cochleaureati,"  or  members  of  the 
Wooden  Spoon  Committee,  and  the  five  Editors  of  theYalc 
Literary  Magazine,  which  election  is  held  during  this  year* 
is  the  great  thing  about  which  they  center,  though  they 
enter  into  and  effect  to  some  extent  the  previous  minor 
elections.  It  was  formerly  the  custom  for  each  of  the 
three  societies,  whose  combined  membership  always 
formed  a  clear  majority  of  the  junior  class,  to  nominate 
three  of  the  candidates  for  the  Spoon  Committee  and  agree 
to  support  the  nominees  of  the  others.  Each  society 
thus  obtained  an  equal  share  of  the  committee.  But,  as 
a  majority  of  the  nine  choose  the  Spoon  Man,  a  second 
coalition  between  two  of  the  societies  against  the  third 
was  necessary  to  decide  the  matter,  as  well  as  to  share 
the  five  editors  between  them  by  some  regular  agree 
ment.  The  manner  of  pledging  Freshmen  to  these  soci 
eties  has  been  already  noted  in  the  description  of  those 
of  sophomore  year.  When  the  class  of  '69  entered  col 
lege,  the  upper-class  politicians  had  already  prepared  for 
them  a  "coalition,"  which  was  to  decide  their  junior  year 
elections.  It  was  between  Delta  Phi  and  Psi  U,  against 
DKE.  Each  society  was  as  usual  to  have  three  Cochs, 
but  Psi  U  was  to  have  the  Spoon  Man  and  three  Editors, 
while  Delta  Phi  was  to  have  two  Editors  and  the  chair- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  129 

man  of  the  editorial  board.  As  soon  as  the  nucleus  of 
each  society's  pledged  Freshmen  was  of  respectable 
size,  this  coalition  was  ratified,  and  papers  were  signed 
in  duplicate  whereby  each  Freshman  bound  himself  to 
faithfully  observe  these  and  other  minor  specifications, 
upon  the  arrival  of  his  junior  year.  Each  party  to  the 
coalition  preserved  one  set  of  the  papers,  and  every 
Freshman  who  thereafter  pledged  to  either  society  was 
obliged  to  agree  to  support  the  coalition  also%  As  many 
other  Freshmen  as  possible  were  also  "  pledged  to  the 
coalition,"  being  induced  to  take  this  step  in  the  belief 
that  it  would  better  their  chances  of  a  pledge  to  one  or 
the  other  of  the  societies  composing  it.  This  was  not 
considered  as  preventing  them  from  accepting  a  pledge 
to  DKE  if  one  were  offered,  but  simply  as  binding  them 
to  vote  against  the  DKE  candidates  until  themselves 
regularly  pledged  to  that  society.  Before  the  end  of  the 
first  term  of  freshman  year  the  political  machine  was  in 
working  order.  The  coalition  held  meetings  and  nomi 
nated  candidates  for  the  freshman-society  offices  ;  DKE 
did  the  same  ;  and  the  two  opposing  factions  then  fought 
it  out.  The  neutrals  of  each  society,  though  outnum 
bering  each  of  the  parties,  nominated  no  third  candi 
date  of  their  own,  and  made  no  effective  opposition. 
They  were  without  "  leaders,"  or  common  interest  to 
bind  them  together,  and  of  course  were  unlikely  to  make 
an  open  fight  against  societies  to  which  they  hoped  each 
day  to  be  pledged.  Neither  did  the  neutrals  know  of 
the  formality  with  which  each  party  nominated  its  can 
didates  in  advance  ;  they  only  observed  that  their  presi 
dents  and  other  high  officers  were  sure  to  be  "  pledged 
men,"  and  the  rival  candidates  the  representatives  of 
opposite  political  factions ;  and  so  they  sided  with  one 
or  the  other  of  them,  as  caprice  or  interest  dictated. 
In  Delta  Kap  there  was  only  one  party,  for  after  the 
7* 


T3°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

first  the  coalition  had  things  all  its  own  way,  and  DKE 
gave  up  the  fight.  It  was,  however,  allowed  one  place 
on  the  Initiation  committee.  Sigma  Eps  was  more 
evenly  divided,  and  each  election  was  closely  contested. 
The  fight  over  the  campaign  offices  was  especially  fierce, 
and  the  expedients  then  resorted  to  for  effecting  the 
result  have  been  described  in  the  chapter  on  Freshman 
Societies.  DKE  was  finally  victorious,  but  in  turn  gave 
the  coalition  one  member  of  the  Initiation  committee. 
In  Gamma  Nu  there  was  but  little  chance  for  politics. 

Outside  the  freshman  societies,  the  first  opportunity 
for  displaying  their  power  was  afforded  by  the  election 
of  the  Annual  Jubilee  committee.     The  "ticket"  was 
made  up  by  a   Delta   Kap    politician,  who    divided    it 
equally  between  the  pledged  men   of  the  three  junior 
societies  ;  but  after  the  election  it  was  found  on  exami 
nation  to  represent  the  freshman   societies  in  the  pro 
portion  of  Delta  Kap  6,  Sigma  Eps  3,  and  Gamma  Nu 
none.     The  latter  society  therefore  resolved  not  to  par 
ticipate  in  the  supper,  but,  one  of  the  committee  after 
wards    withdrawing  from  college,   the  class   elected    a 
Gamma  Nu  man  in  place  of  him,  and  all  ended  happily. 
No  men  in  the  class  of  '69  were  pledged  to  the  sopho 
more  society  Theta  Psi,  but  its   thirty  elections  in  that 
class  were  conferred  upon  the  coalition   men  pledged  to 
Psi  U  and  Delta  Phi,  in  the  proportion  of  two  of  the 
former  to  one  of  the   latter.      Among  these   Delta   Phi 
men  was  the  politician  just  mentioned,  who,  as  campaign 
president  of  Delta  Kap,  had  conceived  such  a  hatred  of 
Gamma  Nu,  that  he  vowed  to  debar  its  members  from 
the  upper-class  societies  which  he  himself  might  belong 
to.      As  Delta  Phi   was   accustomed    to  depend    upon 
Gamma  Nu  for  its  best  men,    it  did  not  approve  this 
decision  of  its  representative,  and  threatened  not  to 
elect  him  if  he  persisted  in  his  course.      He,  however, 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  131 

was  obstinate,  and  Theta  Psi  was  through  him  prevented 
from  electing  any  Gamma  Nu  men  in  '70.  In  Delta 
Phi  there  was  a  long  contest  over  the  '69  elections,  one 
faction  favoring  this  man  and  his  partisans,  the  other 
his  opponents.  By  various  compromises,  about  two 
thirds  of  the  pledged  men  were  finally  elected,  but  the 
politician  and  his  chief  opponent,  were  not  among  them. 
On  the  Tuesday  evening  following  the  initiation,  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  early,  on  account  of  the  Wooden 
Spoon  Exhibition,  and  while  their  Gamma  Nu  opponents 
were  absent  the  partisans  of  the  politician  reassembled, 
elected  and  initiated  him.  When  the  Gamma  Nu  mem 
bers  learned  of  the  facts,  five  out  of  the  seven  sent  in 
their  resignations  to  the  society,  and  took  off  their  Delta 
Phi  badges.  In  the  course  of  the  next  term  they  be 
came  members  of  DKE.  The  originator  of  the 
trouble  withdrew  from  college  at  the  close  of  sophomore 
year.  His  chief  opponent  had  in  the  meantime  joined 
Psi  U,  and  the  few  pledged  men  whom  Psi  U  had  re 
jected  had  been  taken  into  Delta  Phi.  The  opening  of 
junior  year  found  the  two  societies  at  swords'  points. 
The  paper  coalition  between  them  was  seen  to  be  but  a 
rope  of  sand,  and  was  soon  formally  repudiated.  As  the 
time  of  the  great  election  drew  near,  an  arrangement 
was  proposed  whereby  Psi  U  and  DKE  were  each  to 
have  four  Cochs  and  two  Editors,  and  Delta  Phi  one  of 
each ;  but  this  being  rejected  by  the  latter,  similar 
terms  were  offered  to  an  association  of  neutrals,  and 
accepted  by  them,  and  the  "  ticket"  as  thus  made  up 
was  finally  elected  by  the  class, — Psi  U  according  to 
agreement  afterwards  taking  the  Spoon  Man  and  DKE 
the  chairman  of  the  editorial  board.  The  Delta  Phi 
men  attended  the  class  meeting,  and  voted  for  the  three 
Cochs  and  two  Editors  wrhom  they  had — without  hope 
of  success — nominated  in  the  usual  way  from  among 
their  own  number. 


*32  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

For  some  years  preceding  the  revolt,  Delta  Phi  had 
been  held  in  less  repute  than  the  other  two  societies* 
but  had  yet  been  treated  by  them  as  a  political  equal. 
Since  then,  it  has  altogether  degenerated— having  been 
obliged,  in  1869,  through  fear  of  dissolution,  to  give 
elections  to  Freshmen  as  well  as  Sophomores,  and  trans 
form  itself  into  a  mixed  sophomore-and-junior  society— 
and  is  no  longer  of  any  political  or  social  importance. 
The  rumor  has  been  current  of  late  that  the  fraternity 
is  about  to  abolish  its  Yale  chapter;  and  it  would  act 
wisely  in  doing  so,  for  though  it  has  other  branches 
which,  absolutely,  are  no  better  than  this,  yet  there  is 
probably  no  other  college  in  which  the  relative  position 
of  Delta  Phi  is  so  low  as  at  Yale.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  ardent  spirits  profess  to  believe  that  its  present 
decline  is  only  temporary,  and  that  in  the  future  it  will 
be  able  to  regain  its  former  importance  in  the  college. 

Agreements  not  to  pledge  or  electioneer  Freshmen 
have  at  times  been  entered  into  by  these  societies.     The 
last  was  that  made  in  the  class  of  '70,  whose  members 
were  not  to  be  approached  upon  the  subject  of  junior 
societies  before  a  certain  hour  of  the  first  day  of  Febru 
ary,  1868, — in  the  second  term  of  their  sophomore  year. 
As  a'  necessary  tender  to  this  agreement,  the  two  soph 
omore  societies  were  neither  to  pledge  nor  electioneer  nor 
accost  the  Freshmen  in  any  way  until  the  evening  which 
both  should  unite  upon  for  the  giving  out  of  elections. 
At  eight  o'clock  of  the  appointed  evening  they  could 
address  any  Freshman  in  these  words :  "  I  offer  you  a 
pledge    to  Theta  Psi   [or  Beta  Xi].      Do  you   accept?" 
No   argument   or  explanation  of  any  kind   was   to  be 
allowed.     This  programme  was  accordingly  carried  out, 
and  two  or  three  hours  after  the  men  were  pledged  the 
societies  marched  around  and  gave  out  elections  in  the 
usual  way.     Spite  of  the  pledge,  "  the  two  crowds"  were 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  133 

for  all  practical  purposes  "packed"  in  advance.  Lack 
ing  but  a  day  or  two  of  the  appointed  first  of  February, 
the  junior  society  agreement  was  openly  broken, — DKE 
and  Psi  U  each  charging  the  other  with  its  violation. 
Forthwith  most  of  the  Theta  Psi  men  were  pledged  to 
Psi  U,  and  the  members  of  Beta  Xi  to  DKE, — though 
the  reverse  was  true  in  some  cases, — and  each  society 
completed  its  number  from  among  the  neutrals.  Neither 
society  of  course  gained  anything  in  the  class  of  '70  by 
anticipating  by  a  few  hours  the  appointed  time  of  pledg 
ing  them.  But  the  agreements  as  to  the  junior  and 
sophomore  societies  were  to  be  perpetual ;  and  the 
object  held  in  view  by  the  society  which  broke  the 
pledge  was  to  prevent  its  going  into  effect  in  future 
classes.  The  '71  Freshmen  were  forthwith  electioneered 
and  pledged,  and,  spite  of  one  or  two  attempts  to  do 
away  with  the  practice,  things  have  since  gone  on  after 
the  old  fashion,  though  in  the  case  of  '74,  Psi  U  and 
DKE  agreed  to  offer  no  pledges  before  the  third  term  ; 
— Delta  Phi's  consent  not  being  thought  worth  gaining. 
It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  keep  such  an  agreement. 
Without  any  encouragement  from  upper-class  men, 
cliques  will  be  formed  and  crowds  be  packed  in  the  inter 
est  of  some  particular  society.  When  a  society  sees 
"the  best  men"  plainly  drifting  away  from  it,  it  is  apt  to 
suspect  treachery,  raise  a  cry  of  foul-play,  throw  up  the 
pledge,  and  fall  to  work  to  better  its  fortunes.  The 
agreement,  furthermore,  does  not  offer  equal  advantages ; 
relatively,  the  best  society  gains  'at  the  expense  of  the 
poorest.  When  a  man  has  been  a  year  and  a  4half  in 
college  he  comprehends  the  drift  of  things,  sees  the  rel 
ative  positions  of  the  societies,  and  can  make  his  choice 
wisely.  But,  as  a  Freshman,  the  chance  of  joining 
any  upper-class  society  seems  to  him  so  desirable  that 
he  often  takes  up  with  the  first  one  offered  him.  Thus, 


134  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

in  an  indiscriminate  scramble  among  the  Freshmen,  an 
inferior  society  is  likely  to  do  better,  than  when  a  year 
later  it  seeks  for  recruits  among  the  wily  Sophomores. 
The  cases  are  exceptional  in  which  there  is  much  elec 
tioneering  for  the  upper-class  societies.  Occasionally  a 
"  big  man"  may  hesitate  between  two  societies,  and  be 
earnestly  argued  with  by  their  representatives ;  but,  as  a 
rule,  a  man  makes  up  his  mind  for  himself  which  crowd 
he  will  go  with  if  he  can,  and  accepts  an  offered  pledge 
to  it  with  few  words.  When  any  arguments  are  offered 
for  a  society,  they  are  of  course  similar  to  those  used  in 
behalf  of  the  freshman  societies,  and  relate  to  the 
honors,  social  position,  and  so  on,  gained  by  its  mem 
bers.  Prize  lists,  however,  are  unknown  after  freshman 
year. 

There  is  more  harmoniousness  and  good  feeling  in 
the  junior  societies  than  in  those  of  the  two  preceding 
years,  yet  bitter  enmities  not  unfrequently  arise  within 
them.  The  bones  of  contention  are  not  the  society  offi 
ces, — for  the  incumbents  of  them  are  chosen  without 
dispute, — but,  as  may  be  judged  by  the  sketch  of  junior 
politics  in  the  class  of  '69,  the  positions  upon  the  "  ticket" 
for  Cochleaureati  and  Lit.  Editors.  These  are  balloted 
for  one  at  a  time,  and  the  order  of  nomination  is  known 
outside,  so  that  the  candidates  are  spoken  of  throughout 
the  class  as  the  first,  second,  or  third  Cochs  or  Editors, 
of  this  or  that  society.  It  is  expected  that  the  first 
Coch  of  one  or  the  other  society  will  be  chosen  Spoon 
Man,  and  the  first  Editor,  chairman  of  the  editorial 
board.  What  is  known  as  a  junior-society  coalition  is 
not  really  made  between  the  societies  as  such,  but  be 
tween  the  individual  members  of  them.  The  societies 
form  a  good  medium  through  which  to  operate,  but  the 
agreement  is  a  purely  personal  one,  after  all.  For  ex 
ample,  certain  individuals,  who  belong  to  Psi  U,  and 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  1 3  5 

certain  other  individuals,  who  belong  to  DKE,  promise 
to  vote  for  one  another's  candidates  in  a  certain  class 
meeting.  A  formal  writing  is  accordingly  prepared  in 
duplicate  to  which  each  individual  party  to  the  compact 
puts  his  signature.  A  majority,  who  order  that  their 
society  accept  a  coalition,  cannot  force  an  opposing 
minority  into  it,  nor  bind  their  votes  in  class  meeting. 
The  compact  "  holds"  just  as  many  individuals  as  enter 
into  it,  and  no  more.  If  the  thirtieth  man  in  a  society 
insists  on  voting  in  opposition  to  the  twenty  and  nine 
who  are  his  comrades,  there  is  no  one  who  can  say  to 
him,  Nay.  Of  course,  in  practice,  when  a  large  major 
ity  urge  the  adoption  of  a  coalition,  the  minority  are 
prone  to  fall  in  with  it,  even  though  they  may  dislike  to 
do  so  ;  but  their  action  is  voluntary,  and  they  have  no 
one  but  themselves  to  blame  if  they  lack  the  independ 
ence  to  assert  their  own  convictions.  Let  it  be  under 
stood,  once  for  all,  that  the  current  talk  of  a  man's  soci 
ety  binding  his  vote  or  opinion  upon  outside  matters,  is 
nonsense,  pure  and  simple. 

Suppose  a  junior  class  of  115.  Suppose  two  junior 
societies  of  30  men  each.  Suppose  these  60  men  agree 
to  elect  a  ticket  made  up  from  among  their  own  number. 
Suppose  the  separate  thirties  nominate  half  of  it.  Then,  16 
votes  will  ensure  a  man  a  majority  of  the  115  cast  in  class 
meeting.  The  disproportion  is  often  greater  than  this. 
In  the  class  of  '69,  with  120  members,  a  bare  half-dozen 
nominating  votes  secured  a  man  his  election  to  a  coch- 
ship.  Of  course  a  coalition  is  not  arranged  and  ratified 
by  the  necessary  number  of  individuals,  without  a  vast 
deal  of  wire-pulling,  and  log-rolling,  and  pipe-laying, 
and  the  rest  of  it ;  for  all  the  separate  and  conflicting 
interests  have  to  be  consulted  and  reconciled,  and  the 
likely  "men"  held  in  view  as  well  as  the  "measures." 
This  work  takes  up  the  time  of  the  professed  politicians. 


136  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

But,  supposing  that  all  the  details  have  been  at  length 
satisfactorily  arranged,  and  that  the  "nominations  are 
now  in  order  "  in  the  societies,  we  can  see  how  the  strife 
has  been  narrowed  down  to  very  close  quarters,  and  the 
fidelity  of  a  man's  time-serving  "friends"  is  put  to  the 
crucial  test.  The  general  result  is  often  to  be  guessed 
at  in  advance  with  tolerable  accuracy,  for  the  contest  is 
not  infrequently  in  regard  to  the  order  in  which  partic 
ular  candidates  shall  be  nominated,  rather  than  to  the 
fact  itself  of  nominating  them  :  though  usually  there  are 
some  unsuccessful  candidates  close  upon  the  heels  of  the 
last  ones  chosen.  In  general,  there  is  more  uncertainty 
as  to  order  in  nominating  the  Cochs,  more  uncertainty 
as  to  the  men  themselves  in  nominating  the  Editors. 
However  smoothly  the  elections  may  pass  off,  they 
usually  occasion  more  or  less  hard  feeling;  and  the 
"  fence  men  "  are  certain  to  make  enemies,  whichever 
way,  on  the  arrival  of  the  decisive  moment,  they  finally 
jump.  Seniors  announce  the  nominations  from  one 
society  'hall  to  another  almost  before  the  nominating 
meetings  are  adjourned,  and  they  are  discussed  next 
morning  at  every  club  breakfast  table.  The  only  other 
elective  honor  of  any  account  wherewith  the  society  has 
to  do,  is  the  position  of  delegate  to  the  annual  conven 
tion,  for  which  there  may  be  several  aspirants.  The 
society  also  appoints  a  Senior  as  a  member  of  the  dele\ 
gation,  and  pays  his  expenses  with  the  others. 

The  nomination  of  the  candidates  for  class  honors, 
however,  stirs  up  less  of  contention  and  bitterness  than 
the  election  of  new  members  to  the  society.  There  are 
fewer  class  elections  given  out  than  in  sophomore  year, 
because  the  interval  between  the  time  the  members  were 
pledged  and  the  time  they  were  elected  was  long  enough 
for  them  to  decide  upon  what  other  classmates  they 
wished  to  have  elected,  and  the  society  is  not  apt  to 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  137 

refuse  men  thus  recommended.  In  case  there  is  such 
refusal,  a  class  election  probably  results,  soon  after  the 
new  members  are  put  in  control.  Perhaps  a  few  may  be 
given  out  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  sufficient  men  to 
form  an  effective  coalition.  Perhaps  a  man,  proposed 
before  the  class  nominations  are  made,  is  at  first 
rejected  by  those  who  fear  his  vote  may  work  to  their 
disadvantage,  but  elected  when  the  danger  is  over. 
Perhaps  a  class  election  may  be  given  a  new  man  who 
enters  college  as  a  Junior.  And,  on  the  night  of  giving 
out  elections  to  the  Sophomores,  a  few  Juniors  who  have 
been  previously  kept  out  may  be  allowed  to  slip  in. 
Similarly,  a  few  such  honorary  elections  may  be  con 
ferred  on  men  in  the  senior  class.  Psi  U,  however, 
makes  very  few  class  and  honorary  elections,  and  never 
confers  the  latter  upon  members  of  the  Scientific 
School,  as  do  the  other  societies.  The  bad  feeling 
which  results  from  fighting  over  class  elections,  though 
worse  in  kind,  is  naturally  less  in  extent  than  that  arising 
when  the  new  members  are  chosen  from  the  class'below. 
Among  the  pledged  men  who  are  to  be  balloted  for 
there  are  generally  factions,  more  or  less  clearly  de 
fined,  each  of  which  has  its  friends  and  enemies  among 
the  men  who  wield  the  ballot.  Each  wishes  to  be  the 
controlling  power  in  the  society  at  the  time  of  the  class 
nominations,  and  so  desires  to  keep  out  those  likely  to 
injure  its  chances,  or  interfere  against  a  projected 
coalition.  Aside  from  political  considerations,  too, 
there  are  many  private  and  personal  reasons  which 
may  make  certain  pledged  men  obnoxious  to  the  rest, 
and  cause  the  latter  to  work  against  them.  When  to 
these  causes  of  confusion  the  private  likes  and  dislikes 
of  the  Juniors  are  added,  enough  conflicting  interests 
appear,  to  make  the  election  meetings  anything  but  har 
monious  ones.  The  pledged  men  really  have  the  power 


T38  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

in  their  own  hands,  and  occasionally  some  are  found 
fearless  enough  to  assert  it,  by  agreeing  together  not 
to  accept  elections  to  their  society,  unless  some  enemy 
be  left  out  or  friend  taken  in,  as  the  case  may  be.  But 
as  a  rule,  men  feel  too  doubtful  as  to  their  own  chance 
of  election  to  risk  it  by  any  such  defiance ;  and  so  the 
societies  are  usually  spared  the  disgrace  of  being 
directly  dictated  to  by  under-class  men.  The  strife  over 
elections  of  course  varies  in  different  societies  and  dif 
ferent  years ;  sometimes  being  very  bitter,  sometimes 
hardly  displaying  itself  at  all  ;  but,  what  with  com 
promises  and  the  gradual  wearing  away  of  the  weaker 
party's  opposition,  the  full  crowd  is  at  last  made-up,  of 
essentially  the  same  men  who  were  pledged,  and  the 
society  in  due  time  given  good  naturedly  into  their 
hands. 

As  a  natural  result  of  their  political^  affiliations,  the 
active  members  of  these  societies  mention  them  to  one 
another  with  less  reserve  than  is  wont  to  be  maintained 
by  sophomore-society  men,  and  do  not  resent  as  im 
pertinent  any  reasonable  questions  which  may  be  asked 
concerning  them.  They  are  usually  careful  to  say  little 
about  them  in  the  presence  of  neutrals,  however,  lest 
they  be  thought  indirectly  to  boast  of  their  own  implied 
superiority.  DKE  men  are  often  called  "  Deaks  "  by 
the  others,  but  as  this  word  is  somewhat  akin  to  an 
epithet  it  is  not  employed  in  their  presence,  nor  do 
other  society  men  often  use  it  before  outsiders,  unless 
intimate  with  them.  Similarly,  in  sophomore  year,  Beta 
Xi  men  are  called  "  Dead  Beats,"  or  simply  "  Beats,"  by 
those  of  Theta  Psi,  in  the  presence  of  their  own  num 
ber  ;  and  neutrals,  among  themselves,  though  less  com 
monly,  designate  them  in  the  same  manner.  In  fresh 
man  year,  too,  Gamma  Nu  men  may  be  called  Gamma 
Nu-sters  by  the  others,  but  the  epithet  is  by  no  means  a 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  139 

common  one.  "  Dickey  E  "  and  "  Piecey  U  "  are  epi 
thets  sometimes  applied  to  the  third-year  societies  by 
the  Seniors  who  belonged  to  them.  Among  Seniors, 
too,  junior  society  transactions  are  talked  of  about  as 
freely  as  the  doings  of  the  sophomore  societies.  A 
party  of  friends  who  belonged  to  rival  organizations  will 
"chaff"  one  another  about  them,  and,  in  private  of 
course,  join  together  in  singing  their  songs.  Never 
theless,  these  societies  are  thought  much  more  of  than 
those  of  the  two  earlier  years,  and  the  affection  for 
them  is  far  more  lasting.  It  induces  undergraduates  to 
give  liberally  of  their  money  and  labor  for  the  erection 
of  costly  halls,  and  prompts  former  members  to  help 
them  on,  with  generous  subscriptions  and  friendly  ad 
vice.  A  man's  share  in  the  ordinary  expenses  of  a 
junior  society  is  no  larger  than  in  that  of  the  year 
before, — perhaps  not  as  large ;  his  share  in  the  extra 
ordinary  expenses  is  unlimited.  Suppose  a  new  hall  is 
to  be  built:  a  subscription  of  $50  is  very  fair ;  of  $100, 
generous  ;  of  $200,  munificent ;  while  $500  makes  a  man 
a  hero  in  society  tradition  ever  after.  Thus,  these 
society  "bonds  of  affection,"  et  cetera,  are  shown  to 
have  a  tangible  cash  value,  and,  even  at  Yale  where 
they  are  wont  to  be  made  light  of,  are  sometimes  re 
deemed  if  not  in  gold  at  least  in  lawful  money.  At 
other  colleges,  where  a  man  belongs  to  but  one  society, 
and  perhaps  may  be  a  member  of  it  during  his  whole 
academic  course,  his  regard  for  it  is  naturally  deeper 
and  more  enduring  than  it  could  be  were  his  allegiance 
divided  as  at  Yale.  The  graduates  of  the  other  chap 
ters  hence  take  a  livelier  interest  in  their  welfare.  If  a 
new  hall  is  to  be  built,  or  other  extraordinary  expenses 
are  to  be  incurred,  the  brunt  of  the  burden  falls  upon 
them.  At  Yale,  it  is  the  undergraduates  who  take  the 
initiative ;  the  aid  of  the  old  members,  generous  as  it 
often  is,  comes  in  only  as  a  supplement  to  their  work. 


MO  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  relative  standing  of  the  three  societies  has  been 
incidentally  alluded  to  ;  a  few  direct  remarks  in  regard 
to  it  may  serve  to  close  the  chapter.     Psi  U,  starting 
at  Yale  when  Delta  Phi  was  broken  up  by  internal  feuds* 
seems  from  the  outset  to  have  successfully  disputed  the 
ground   with  it   as   a  recognized  equal,  despite  its  in 
feriority  to  it  in  age  and  reputation.     These  two  were 
the  important  rivals   until  about  the  year  1862,  when 
DKE,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  its  age,  by  the  erection 
of  a  hall  of  its  own,  suddenly  began  to  rise  in  college 
repute,   and  claim  recognition   as  a  rival   of  Psi  U,— 
Delta  Phi  having  been  for  some  time  on  the  wane, — 
and  ever  since  the  class  of  '69  entered  college  the  real 
rivalry  has  been  between  those  two  societies.     Since  the 
graduation  of  that  class,  indeed,   Delta  Phi  has  prac 
tically  sunk  out  of  sight  in  college  esteem,  and  is  called 
a  junior  society  only  by  courtesy.   .  The  material  argu 
ment  has  all  been  on  the  side  of  DKE,  and  in  view  of 
this  it  seems  remarkable  that  Psi  U,  with  little  else  to 
back  it  save  its  traditional  prestige,  has  maintained  its 
old  position  so  well.     If  the   lift  which  its  hall  gave 
DKE  be  any  index  of  the  future,  it  seems  likely  that  its 
rival,  at  length  possessed  of  a  more  attractive  one,  will 
again  take  the  lead  in  the  race.    Comparing  the  freshman 
societies  with  these,  it  is  easy  to  see  a  general  tendency 
in  Sigma  Eps  men  to  choose  DKE,  Delta  Kap  men  Psi 
U,  and  Gamma  Nu  men  Delta  Phi ;  though  since  the 
catastrophe  of  1868   the  comparison  in  the  latter  case 
no    longer   holds.     Thus,    the    campaign   president   of 
Sigma  Eps  is  almost  always  a  DKE  pledged  man,  and 
of  Delta  Kap  a  candidate  for  Psi  U  ;  while  formerly  the 
Gamma  Nu  president  was  quite  as  certain  to  be  pledged 
to  Delta  Phi.     Even  before  the  latters  foil,  it  was  not 
infrequently  to  be  observed  that  a  sneer  would  arise, 
when  a  man  was  mentioned  who  had  "gone  to  Delta 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  141 

Phi,"  which  was  only  a  little  less  pronounced  than  the 
old  freshman  derision  of  "  Gamma  Nu  men."  Now-a- 
days,  hardly  any  one  of  any  ability  or  social  importance 
can  be  induced  to  join  Delta  Phi,  and  membership  in 
it  is  thought  to  rather  lower  a  man's  dignity  and  self- 
respect.  Indeed,  the  name  "  Delta  Phi  man  "  is  fast 
'becoming  a  synonym  for  "  scrub,"  and  "  pill,"  and  even 
the  neutrals  regard  its  members  with  a  sort  of  pitying 
contempt  The  sentiment  concerning  it  is  much  like 
that  which  used  to  prevail  in  regard  to  Diggers  of  senior 
year  :  the  average  man  "  will  go  to  one  of  the  reputable 
societies  or  to  none  at  all."  But  these  two  societies  no 
one  ever  pretends  to  despise,  however  hostile  he  may 
be  to  them.  For  the  last  few  years  DKE  has  taken  a 
good  many  more  prizes  and  honors  than  its  rival,  and 
about  all  of  the  prominent  boating  and  base-ball  men 
have  been  among  its  members.  Its  men  "work"  more 
for  their  society  than  do  their  rivals,  and  take  greater 
pains  to  display  it.  Psi  U  used  to  be  called  the  "  shawl 
society,"  in  the  old  days  when  the  wearing  of  that  gar 
ment  was  deemed  to  smack  somewhat  of  aristocracy  and 
exclusiveness.  Perhaps  its  place  at  Yale  to-day  cannot 
be  better  described  than  by  saying  that  it  still  attracts 
most  of  the  "shawl  men"  from  every  junior  class.  In 
place  of  twenty,  political  or  pecuniary  exigencies  now 
require  it  to  elect  about  thirty  members,  long  time  the 
established  number  of  the  less  exacting  DKE.  As 
general  college  fraternities,  their  rank  is :  Psi  U  first, 
Delta  Phi  second,  and  DKE  third  ;  or  inversely  as  their 
membership  and  number  of  chapters.  The  lowest  of 
them,  however,  as  well  as  its  two  superiors,  is  probably 
of  a  good  deal  more  importance  than  any  of  the  other 
chaptered  college  fraternities  in  America. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
SENIOR    SOCIETIES. 

Peculiarities  of  these  Societies — Skull  and  Bones — Its  Badge  Pin 
and  Numeral — Hall  and  Corporate  Title — Origin — Catalogue — 
Mode  of  Giving  out  Elections — Initiation — Mode  of  Summoning 
Members  to  the  Annual  Convention — Attendance  upon  the  Reg 
ular  and  Special  Meetings — Peculiar  Customs  and  Traditions — 
Scroll  and  Key — Its  Badge  Pin  and  Vignette — Hall  and  Corpor 
ate  Title — Origin  and  Growth — Customs  and  Traditions — Spade 
and  Grave — Its  Origin,  Precarious  Existence,  Change  of  Name, 
and  Final  Catastrophe — The  Societies  and  the  Neutrals — Bull 
and  Stones — The  Coffin  of  '69— The  Tea-Kettle  of  '53 — Crown 
and  Scepter — Star  and  Dart — Notable  Members  of  the  Existing 
Societies — Mode  of  Packing  and  Making  up  a  Crowd — Compar 
ison  of  the  Societies — Their  "Policies,"  Actual  and  Possible- 
Failure  of  their  Imitators  in  Other  Colleges— General  Facts 
about  all  the  Class  Societies — Comparison  of  their  Importance 
in  Each  Year — General  Result  of  the  System. 

The  societies  of  the  first  three  years,  though  possessed 
of  special  characteristics,  have  yet  such  a  general  resem 
blance  to  one  another  and  to  those  of  other  colleges, 
that  their  position  in  the  system  can  be  readily  compre 
hended  by  any  reader  of  these  pages, — at  least,  if  he  be 
college-bred.  But  the  senior  societies  are  such  pecu 
liarly  Yale  institutions,  that  it  will  be  difficult  for  an  out 
sider  fully  to  appreciate  their  significance.  Nothing  like 
them  exists  in  other  colleges ;  and  Harvard  is  the  only  col 
lege  where,  under  similar  conditions,  they  possibly  could 
exist.  In  the  first  place,  they  are  the  only  Yale  societies 
whose  transactions  arc  really  secret.  Their  members 
never  even  mention  their  names,  nor  refer  to  them  in  any 
way,  in  the  presence  of  anyone  not  of  their  own  number  ; 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  143 

and,  as  they  are  all  Seniors,  there  are  no  "  old  members 
in  the  class  above  them"  to  tell  tales  out  of  school. 
There  is  no  electioneering  nor  pledging  for  these  socie 
ties,  and  no  Junior  is  approached  upon  the  subject  in 
any  way  until  an  election  is  actually  offered  him.  The 
number  of  elections  given  out  to  each  class  is  small  and 
never  varies,  and  no  class  nor  honorary  elections  are  ever 
allowed.  Both  societies  combined  comprise  but  little 
more  than  one  fourth  the  members  of  an  average  class, 
and  the  part  played  by  them  in  politics  is  simply  a  neg 
ative  one.  A  man's  chances  for  office  are  never  bet 
tered  because  he  belongs  to  a  senior  society,  but  are 
frequently,  for  that  simple  reason,  injured  or  destroyed 
altogether.  The  societies  do  not  take  their  names  from 
the  initials  of  a  Greek  motto,  but  from  the  peculiar  em 
blems  adopted  as  a  badge.  This  badge  is  constantly 
worn  by  active  members  ;  by  clay  upon  the  shirt  bosom 
or  neck-tie,  by  night  upon  the  night  dress.  A  gymnast 
or  boating  man  will  be  sure  to  have  his  senior  badge 
attached  to  what  little  clothing  he  may  be  encumbered 
with  while  in  practice  ;  and  a  swimmer,  divested  of  all 
garments  whatever,  will  often  hold  it  in  his  mouth  or 
hand,  or  attach  it  to  his  body  in  some  way,  while  in  the 
water.  Only  graduate  members  wear  the  badge  upon 
the  vest,  where  for  the  first  few  years  they  display  it 
quite  regularly.  Old  graduates  seldom  "  swing  out"  ex 
cept  on  special  occasions,  or  while  visiting  New  Haven  j 
and  members  of  the  faculty,  except  may  be  young  fresh 
man  tutors,  never  display  a  society  badge  when  engaged 
in  their  official  duties.  Members  who  have  ceased  to 
show  the  badge  openly,  nevertheless  may  wear  it  about 
them  pretty  constantly,  perhaps  by  night  as  well  as  day, 
for  quite  a  number  of  years.  The  senior  societies,  in 
theory,  are  composed  exclusively  of  "  big  men"  ;  of 
those  who,  for  whatever  reason,  have  become  preemi- 


144  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

nent  above  their  fellows  in  college  repute.  In  this  they 
differ  from  those  of  the  two  preceding  years,  which  of 
necessity  are  half  made  up  of  comparatively  second- 
rate  men.  There  are  a  certain  number — say  twenty 

in  each  class,  who,  at  the  end  of  the  third  year,  may  be 
picked  out  as  the  confessed  superiors  of  the  others  in 
popular  esteem.  Were  it  possible  to  do  this  a  year  or 
more  earlier,  and  were  one  junior  society  preeminently 
"  the  best,"  it  is  doubtful  if  the  twenty  could  all  be  per 
suaded  to  join  it,  or  the  society  to  elect  them  all ;  for  it 
is  plain  that  their  individual  political  influence  would 
be  greater  in  separate  societies,  partly  made  up  of  less 
important  men.  The  senior-society  type,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  an  association  with  no  weak  members  whatever  ; 
and  th.e  history  of  the  matter  shows  that  unless  this 
ideal  is  adhered  to  with  reasonable  closeness  such  a  soci 
ety  cannot  live  long  at  Yale. 

There  are  two  of  these  societies,  but  as  one  takes  its 
tone  from  the  other  it  may  be  well  to  describe  them  sep 
arately,  and  treat  first  of  the  oldest  and  most  famous 
member  of  the  modern  system.  Its  name  is  "Skull 
and  Bones,"— formerly  printed  "Scull  and  Bone,"— 
and  its  badge,  of  solid  gold,  consists  of  the  face  of  a 
skull,  supported  by  the  crossed  thigh  bones,  with  a  band, 
bearing  the  number  "322",  in  place  of  the  lower  jaw.' 
Its  original  badge  was  a  rectangular  gold  plate,  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  the  present  Beta  Xi  pin,  whereon 
the  skull-and-bones  design  and  the  numeral  were  simply 
engraved.  Its  wood-cut  vignette  merely  represents  the 
emblems,  and  is  identical  with  that  employed  for  general 
purposes  in  college  papers  elsewhere.  The  number 
"322"  is  always  printed  below  it,  though  the  size  of  the 
type  is  not  invariable.  In  the  cut  formally  used,  the 
design  was  smaller  that  now  than  in  vogue  ;  but  there 
never  has  been  added  to  the  simple  emblems  anything 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  145 

in  the  way  of  ornament  or  embellishment.     Popularly 
the  society  is  known  as  "  Bones,"  and  its  members  as 
"  Bones  men."     The  pin  is  sometimes  called  a  "  crab" 
from  its  supposed  resemblance  to  that  animal.     The 
hall,  erected  in  1856,  is  situated  on  High  street,  near  the 
corner  of  Chapel,  about  opposite  the  Yale  Art  Building. 
It  is  a  grim-looking,  windowless,  tomb-like  structure,  of 
brown  sandstone,  rectangular  in  shape,  showing  a  front 
of  about  35  and  a  length  of  44  feet,  and  is,  at  a  guess, 
35  feet  in  hight.     The  entrance  in  front  is  guarded  by  a 
pair  of  massive  iron  doors,  a  dozen  feet  high,  finished 
off  in  panels,  and  of  a  dark  green  color  ;   while  heavy 
clasps  of  brass  close  over  the  key-holes  and  are  secured 
by  padlocks,  beneath  one  of  which  the  bell-pull  is  con 
cealed.     Previous  to  1864,  when  these  doors  were  put 
in  position,   their  places  were  occupied  by  commoner 
ones  of   iron,  upon  which    the  society  emblems  were 
displayed.      The   roof    is   nearly   flat,  and  is   covered 
with  half-inch  plates  of  iron,  which  in    1867  took  the 
place  of    the  tin  before  employed.      There  is  a   sky 
light,  similarly  protected,  and  the  chimneys  and  ventila 
tors  are  ranged  along  the  edges  of  the  roof.     Behind, 
are  a  pair  of  small  windows  barred  with  iron,  and  close 
to  the  ground  are  two  or  three  scuttle  holes,  communi 
cating  with  the  cellar.     The  building  is  rapidly  becom 
ing  covered  with  the  "  Virginia  creeper/'  first  planted 
there  in  1864,  and  stands  back  a  rod  or  more  from  the 
street,  being  separated  from  it  by  a  post-and-chain  fence. 
The   dimensions  of  the  lot  upon  which    it  stands   are 
about  40  feet  (front)  by  70  (deep) ;  and  the  total  value 
of  the  premises  must  be  upwards  of  $30,000.     Before  tak 
ing  possession  of  its  present  quarters,  the  society  for  many 
years, — perhaps  from  its  original  organization, — occu 
pied  a  low-studded  back  room  in  the  third  story  of  what 
is  now  the  Courant  building,  opposite  the  college  yard. 

8 


146  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

At  the  May,  1856,  session  of  the  State  Legislature 
the  society  was  incorporated  as  the  "  Russell  Trust 
Association,"  with  the  same  legal  formulas  as  those 
quoted  in  the  case  of  Psi  U.  The  names  mentioned  in 
the  act  were  William  H.  Russell  of  '33,  John  S.  Beach 
of  '39,  Henry  B.  Harrison  of  '46,  Henry  T.  Blake  of 
'48,  Henry  D.  White  of  '51,  and  Daniel  C.  Oilman  of 
'52  j — the  first  of  whom  has  since  acted  as  president,  the 
one  next  the  last  as  treasurer,  of  the  association.  All 
are  residents  of  New  Haven. 

The  society  was  originated  in  1832  by  fifteen  mem 
bers  of  the  class  which  graduated  the  following  year. 
General  Russell,  the  valedictorian  of  that  class,  is  its 
reputed  founder,  and  the  best  known  of  his  associates 
is  Judge  Alphonso  Taft  of  Cincinnati.  Some  injustice 
in  the  conferring  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  elections  seems  to 
have  led  to  its  establishment,  and  apparently  it  was  for 
some  time  regarded  throughout  college  as  a  sort  of  bur 
lesque  convivial  club.  It  is  said  that  the  faculty  once 
broke  in  upon  one  of  its  meetings,  and  from  what  they 
saw  determined  upon  its  abolishment,  but  by  the  inter 
cessions  and  explanations  of  its  founder,  then  serving  as 
tutor  among  them,  were  finally  induced  to  spare  it.  The 
popular  college  tradition,  that  it  was  transplanted  from 
a  German  university,  is  scouted  by  old  neutral  gradu 
ates  as  absurd.  But,  whatever  be  the  facts  as  to  its 
origin,  the  mystery  now  attending  its  existence  is  genu 
ine,  and  forms  the  one  great  enigma  which  college  gos 
sip  never  tires  of  discussing.  Its  catalogue  is  a  unique 
affair,  having  a  page  six  inches  by  four,  printed  upon 
one  side  only.  Each  right-hand  page  contains  the 
members  of  a  year — fifteen  names  indicated  in  full  and 
alphabetically  arranged — with  the  residences,  printed  in 
old-English  text,  and  surrounded  by  a  heavy  border  of 
black.  A  title  page,  bearing  the  society  cut  and  the 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  VS  TEM.  1 4  7 

words  "  Period  2.  Decade  3,"  precedes  the  list  of  the 
founders,  and   a  similar  one,  "  Period  2.   Decade  4," 
stands  before  the  class  of  '43,  and  so  on  for  every  suc 
cessive  ten  years,  the  "  Period"  being  always  "  2,"  but 
the  "  Decade"  increasing  each  time  by  one.     At  the  top 
of  the  first  list  of  names — the  class  of  '33 — and  sepa 
rated  from  them  by  a  broad  line  of  black,  are  the  char 
acters,  "P.  231. — I).  31.",  which  regularly  increase  by 
one  with  each  succeeding  class,   and  are  therefore,  for 
the  class  of  '71,  "P.  269. — D.  69."      The  first  page  of 
the  book  displays,  in  full-faced,  old-English  capitals,  the 
letters,  "Otirunbcditf,"  arranged  in  a  semi-oval,  between 
two  black  lines.     The  catalogue  is  black-edged,   and  is 
bound  in  black  leather,  with  the  owner's  name  and  "  D.", 
stamped    in  gilt  upon  the  cover, — though  of  late  the 
"  D."  is  less  often  indicated.     It  will   be   observed  that 
the  "D."  is  always  two  less  than  the  class  ;  thus,  a  cat 
alogue  labeled  "John  Smith,  D.  62,"  would  belong  to  a 
member  of  the  class  of   '64,  and  so  on.      What  these 
"  Periods"  and  "  Decades"  and  "  P.'s"  and  "D.Vmay 
signify  is  known  only  to  the  initiated ;  but,  as  the  cata 
logue  is  never  shown  to  outsiders,  they  were  probably 
not  put  there  for  mystification  solely.     That  the  found 
ers  are   put  down   as  belonging  to  the   "  third  decade 
of  the  second  period"  may  seem  to  make  in  favor  of  the 
German  university  theory,  in   the  minds  of  many ;    and 
the  blank  space  in  place  of  the  eleventh  man's  name  in 
the  list  of   the   founders,   may   perhaps  be   thought    a 
straw  in  the  same  direction.      The  last  edition  of   the 
catalogue  was  prepared  in  December,  1870,  and  was  as 
usual  sent  out  in  unbound  sheets  to  each  surviving  mem 
ber  of  the  society.     The   total   membership   of   the  39 
classes  represented  was  of  course  585. 

The  elections  to  this  society  are  always  given  out  on 
the   Thursday    evening   which    precedes    Presentation 


148  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Day.  Since  no  Junior  is  ever  pledged  or  spoken  to  in 
advance,  the  excitement  which  prevails  among  the 
"likely  men  "  is  intense,  though  suppressed,  as  the  hour 
of  fate  draws,  nigh.  All  college,  too,  is  on  the  alert,  to 
find  what  the  result  may  be.  It  is  said  that  formerly 
the  fifteen  Bones  men,  at  midnight,  silently  moved  from 
their  hall  to  the  rooms  of  the  chosen  ones,  when  the 
leader,  in  each  case  displaying  a  human  skull  and  bone, 
said  simply,  "  Do  you  accept  ? "  and,  whatever  was  the 
reply,  the  procession  as  silently  departed.  As  the 
neutrals  got  into  the  way  of  tagging  about,  insulting  and 
annoying  the  society  on  its  march,  this  plan  was  aban 
doned  in  favor  of  the  less  formal  one  now  in  vogue. 
According  to  this,  at  an  early  hour  of  the  appointed 
evening,  a  Bones  Senior  quietly  calls  at  the  room  of  a 
Junior,  and  having  been  assured  that  "  we  are  alone," 
says :  "  I  offer  you  an  election  to  the  so-called  Skull  and 
Bones.  Do  you  accept  ?  "  If  the  answer  is  affirmative 
the  Senior — and  perhaps  the  graduate  member  who 
sometimes  accompanies  him — shakes  hands  with  the 
neophyte,  and  bidding  him  to  keep  to  his  room  for  the 
present,  hurries  back  to  the  hall  to  report  the  result. 
If  the  election  is  refused,  the  result  is  likewise  reported 
to  headquarters,  and  influential  members  are  sometimes 
sent  back  to  argue  the  case  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  few  men 
who  refuse  elections  are  not  offered  a  chance  to  repent. 
Bones  will  not  be  dictated  to,  and  when  a  man  says,  "  I 
accept,  in  case  So-and-So  is  elected  with  me,"  or  "in 
case  Such-a-One  is  kept  out,"  he  is  never  allowed  to  carry 
his  point ;  Yes  or  No  is  the  only  answer  recognized. 
Suppose  the  elections  begin  to  be  given  out  about  seven, 
in  case  there  are  no  refusals  the  whole  number  will  be 
made  up  before  nine  o'clock  ;  if  there  are  refusals  it 
may  take  an  hour  longer.  In  anticipation  of  this  pos 
sibility,  a  half-dozen  extra  men  are  chosen  in  Bones,  in 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  1 49 

addition  to  the  regular  fifteen,  and  in  case  any  of  the 
latter  fail  to  say  Yes,  elections  are  offered  to  a  corre 
sponding  number  of  these  "second  choices,"  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  elected.  By  going  quickly  and 
quietly  about  their  business  the  Bones  men  manage  to 
elude  in  great  part  the  attentions  of  the  rabble,  which 
ranges  about  the  college  yard  on  the  night  in  question, 
— barring  up  the  entry  doors,  raising  false  alarms,  and 
otherwise  disporting  itself.  The  names  of  the  chosen 
men,  however,  are  known  about  as  quickly  as  the  elec 
tions  are  conferred,  and  many  in  the  crowd  make  out 
complete  lists  of  them,  for  circulation  at  the  breakfast 
table  or  in  the  division-room  upon  the  following  morning, 
when  they  form  the  sole  topic  of  discussion  throughout 
the  college.  Usually,  the  names  are  first  printed  in  the 
Conrant  of  the  Wednesday  following ;  though  for  a  year 
or  two  past  some  of  the  city  dailies  have  had  the  tact  to 
secure  them  for  their  next  morning's  issue.  The  initia 
tion  begins,  after  the  close  of  the  Wooden  Spoon  Ex 
hibition,  at  midnight  of  the  following  Tuesday,  and  lasts 
till  about  daybreak.  The  candidates  for  the  ceremony 
are  assembled  in  a  room  of  the  college  Laboratory, 
which  is  guarded  by  Bones  men,  and  are  singly  escorted 
thence,  by  two  of  the  latter,  to  the  hall.  As  the  grim 
doors  open  for  each  new  member,  there  are  sounds  as 
of  a  fish  horn,  as  of  many  feet  hurrying  up  an  uncar- 
peted  stairway,  as  of  a  muffled  drum  and  tolling  bell, — 
all  mingling  in  a  sort  of  confused  uproar,  like  that  from 
a  freshman  initiation  a  good  many  miles  away.  Per 
haps,  while  being  led  to  the  hall,  a  candidate  may  pass 
between  rows  of  neutral  Juniors  or  other  college  men, 
some  of  whom  may  "  bid  him  good  bye,"  with  expres 
sions  of  congratulation  and  good  will,  if  they  think  his 
election  deserved,  or  insult  and  revile  him,  if  their  belief 
goes  in  the  contrary  direction.  There  is  usually  some 


15°  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

one  to  flash  a  dark  lantern  upon  each  approaching  can 
didate,  and,  if  he  makes  no  other  personal  comments, 
to  at  least  shout  forth  his  name,  for  the  edification  of 
the  rest.  To  all  this  the  Bones  men  of  course  pay  no 
attention.  It  perhaps  takes  an  hour  or  more  thus  to 
initiate  the  fifteen  candidates  ;  and  when  the  self-con 
stituted  leader  of  the  outside  hangers  on  announces 
that  "  the  last  man  's  in,"  his  followers  agree  that  the 
fun  is  over,  and  sullenly  disperse.  If  they  stayed  longer 
perhaps  they  might  hear  songs  sung  to  strange  old 
tunes,  and  the  tones  of  the  orator's  voice,  and  the 
applause  which  follows  it,  and  the  prolonged  cheers  for 
"the  Skull  and  the  Bones."  And  of  course  there  is  a 
supper.  Every  resident  graduate  attends  the  initiation, 
as  well  as  many  from  New  York  and  elsewhere,  some 
of  whom  come  to  town  as  early  as  election  night ;  and 
the  initiation  itself,  at  least  the  outside  part  of  it,  is  con 
ducted  by  graduates  alone.  Long  ago,  it  is  said,  the 
initiation  took  place  on  the  evening  of  Presentation  Day. 
"  The  annual  convention  of  the  Order  "  is  held  on  the 
evening  of  Commencement.  Three  weeks  previous  to 
this, — which,  of  late  years,  is  therefore  at  the  time  of  the 
first  regular  meeting,  two  nights  after  initiation, —  a 
printed  invitation  is  sent  to  every  living  member  of"  the 
Club  "  whose  whereabouts  are  known.  This  invitation 
is  upon  the  first  page  of  a  sheet  of  note  paper.  Below 
the  society  cut  is  the  date — for  example,  "Thursday 
evening,  July  22,  1869"  —  of  Commencement  night; 
followed  by  "^§f  VI.  S.B.T. ;"  a  Latin  quotation,  play 
ing  upon  the  word  "  Bones  ; "  the  signature  of  the  secre 
tary,  and  the  date.  Upon  the  third  page  is  the  list  of 
new  members,  printed  alphabetically  in  old-English 
text,  and  surrounded  by  the  black  borders,  exactly  as  in 
the  catalogue,  of  which  it  in  fact  constitutes  a  new  "  P." 
and  "D."  Each  one  who  receives  it,  by  fitting  the  new 


THE  SOC1E  TY  SYSTEM.  1 5  I 

leaf  to  his  catalogue,  thus  keeps  the  same  perfect  from 
year  to  year.  These  pages  are  doubtless  stereotyped, 
and  preserved  by  the  society,  whose  entire  catalogue  is 
thus  always  kept  in  readiness  for  the  printer.  With 
this  invitation  and  catalogue-page,  is  also  sent  a  printed 
slip  specifying  the  exercises  of  Commencement  week. 
A  card-size  photograph  of  the  new  members,  grouped — 
in  front  of  an  antique  clock  whose  hands  point  to  the 
hour  of  eight — about  a  table  on  which  lies  a  skull,  is  also 
sent  to  graduates,  at  this  time  or  afterwards.  In  the 
picture,  the  thigh  bones  are  held  by  certain  members, — 
sometimes  the  table-cloth  has  the  emblems  embroidered 
upon  it,  and  the  whole  arrangement  of  the  group  is 
apparently  significant.  Official  notes  to  old  members 
are  written  upon  black  bordered  paper  of  the  catalogue 
size,  with  or  without  the  society  cut  at. the  head,  and 
society  communications  sent  through  the  mails  are  often 
enclosed  in  black-edged  envelopes, — bearing  at  the  end 
a  printed  request  to  the  postmaster  to  return  them  to 
the  society's  post-office  box  if  not  delivered  within 
a  certain  time, — sealed  with  a  skull  and  bones  and 
the  letters  "  S.C.B.,"  impressed  upon  black  wax. 
Bones  men  never  display  in  their  college  rooms  any 
posters  or  other  reminders  of  their  society, — though  it 
is  rumored  that  actual  skulls  were  formerly  used  for  this 
purpose, — but  graduates  often  keep  on  the  walls  before 
them  a  richly-framed  photographic  group  of  the  class 
mates  who  made  up  their  own  special  "  D.," —  the 
picture  being  simply  an  enlargement  of  the  card  photo 
graph  before  noted.  As  specimen  jokes  from  the  con 
vention  invitations  the  following  may  be  quoted  :  "  Nisi 
in  bonis  amicitia  esse  non  potest "  (Cic.  de  Am.  5.  i.) ; 
<4  Grandiaque  effossis  mirabitur  ossa  sepulchris  "  (Virg. 
Georgs.  I.  497);  "Quid  dicam  de  ossibus  ?  Nil  nisi 
bonum  "  ;  and,  in  1856,  at  the  time  of  erecting  the  hall, 


I52  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

"Quid  clicam  cle  ossibus  ?  (Cic.  de  Nat.  Deorum.  II. 
55.)  O  fortunati,  quorum  jam  moenia  surgunt!"  (Virg. 
^Kn.  I.  430,)  At  the  head  of  the  editorial  columns  of 
the  city  dailies,  on  Commencement  morning,  was  usually 
displayed  the'"  322.  VI.  S.B.T."  notice,  between  paral 
lel  black  rules,  but  for  the  past  few  years  the  practice  has 
been  abandoned.  Up  to  about  the  same  time  printed 
announcements  of  the  place  and  time  of  the  Commence 
ment  meeting,  headed  by  the  cut,  were  posted 'about 
college,  and  upon  the  notice-boards  of  the  different 
churches,  a  few  days  in  advance.  Formerly,  too, 
similar  warnings  were  printed,  in  connection  with  the 
society  cut,  among  the  advertisements  of  the  city  papers. 
As  their  hall  is  called  "  the  Temple  "  by  Bones  men,  a 
current  guess— and  a  wrong  one— interprets  "  S.B.T." 
as  "  Skull  and  Bones  Temple."  A  more  likely  reading 
makes  "T."  stand  for  "time,"  and  so  interprets  the 
notice,  "Six  minutes  before  eight,"— the  hour  eight 
being  "Bones  time." 

The  meetings  are  held  on  Thursday  evening,  com 
mencing  exactly  at  eight  o'clock,  and  every  acting  mem 
ber  is  obliged  to  be  in  attendance  from  that  time  until 
the  adjournment,  at  two  or  three  in  the  morning.  The 
society  formerly  had  a  way  of  marching  from  its  hall  in 
dead  silence, — tramp,  tramp,  tramp, — to  the  north  entry 
of  North  College,  where  it  might  leave  a  man  or  two, 
and  so  on,  silently,  in  front  of  the  row,  growing  smaller 
as  it  passed  the  different  buildings,  until  at  the  south 
entry  of  South  the  few  who  were  left  disbanded.  For 
merly,  too,  it  was  customary,  before  breaking  up,  to  sing 
a  college  song  whose  refrain  was,  "  And  I  shall  be  his 
dad  ;"  but  this  practice,  for  lack  of  voices  perhaps,  was 
abandoned  some  years  ago.  A  Bones  Senior  is  never 
seen  about  New  Haven  after  eight  o'clock  of  a  Thursday 
evening.  Nothing  but  actual  sickness  ever  keeps  him 


THE  SO CIE TY  SYS TEM.  1 5 3 

from  his  society,  except  it  be  absence  from  tdWn, — and 
those  who  have  been  absent  are  apt  to  appear  for  the 
first  time  at  Friday  morning  chapel.  A  good  share  of 
the  fresh  graduates  who  are  residents,  and  many  of  the 
older  ones,  are  also  ordinarily  in  attendance  at  the  regular 
weekly  meetings.  Aside  from  the  annual  convention  on 
Commencement  night,  there  are  two  other •"  bums"  held 
during  the  year, — one  each  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
first  and  second  terms, — which  bring  many  graduates 
from  out  of  town.  These  usually  reach  the  city  just 
before  the  meeting,  and  leave  it  on  the  midnight  trains, 
so  that  their  coming  and  going  is  not  known  to  outsiders, 
except  from  the  hotel  registers  or  a  chance  contact  upon 
the  street. 

Each  Bones  man  has  a  nick-name  by  which  he  is 
known  to  his  initiated  classmates.  One  or  two  of  these 
names,  probably  official  titles,  are  retained  from  year  to 
year,  but  most  of  them  change  with  the  classes,  and  are 
apparently  conferred  according  to  individual  peculiarity 
or  caprice.  All  members  of  the  society  are  also  spoken 
of  among  themselves  by  a  certain  general  title  ;  another 
is  conferred  upon  members  of  the  other  senior  society, 
and  a  third  is  bestowed  upon  the  neutrals.  As  these 
titles,  especially  the  latter,  might  convey  a  wrong  impres 
sion  if  generally  known,  they  are  not  mentioned  here. 
The  society  itself,  among  its  members,  is  known  as 
"Eulogia,"  or  the  "  Eulogian  Club."  It  is  believed  to 
have  little  or  no  regard  to  any  formal,  written  constitu 
tion,  but  to  be  governed  chiefly  by  tradition  in  its  cus 
toms  and  usages.  The  hall  is  reputed  to  be  a  sort  of 
repository  for  old  college  mementos  ;  like  the  u  first 
college  bell,"  the  original  "bully-club,"  the  constitutions 
of  defunct  societies,  etc.,  which  are  all  said  to  be  pre 
served  there ;  and  when  anything  of  the  kind  disap 
pears,  this  is  surmised  to  be  its  final  destination.  Though 
8* 


154  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Thursday  night  is  the  regular  time  of  meeting,  when 
attendance  is  compulsory,  the  hall  is  generally  frequented 
on  Saturday  and  other  nights  also,  and  is  often  visited 
in  the  day  time  besides.  An  old  member  often  goes 
there  as  soon  as  he  reaches  town,  especially,  if  in  quest 
of  information  in  regard  to  classmates  who  were  formerly 
associated  there  with  him.  At  convention  time,  the 
members  who  cannot  in  person  attend,  send  to  the  soci 
ety  such  facts  as  to  their  whereabouts  and  occupations 
for  the  year,  as  may  interest  old  classmates  and  friends  ; 
and  their  letters  are  filed  away  for  future  reference. 
Every  book  or  pamphlet  written  by  a  member  is  also 
preserved  in  the  society  archives ;  and  its  collection  of 
printed  and  manuscript  "Yalensia"  is  said  to  be  very 
complete. 

To  discover  the  exact  meaning  of  the  inevitable  num 
eral  "322,"  has  long  been  a  problem  for  college  mathe 
maticians.  According  to  some,  it  signifies  "  1832,"  or 
the  year  the  society  was  founded  ;  others  make  it 
"  34-2+2"  or  "  7,"  which  is  said  to  be  the  number  of 
"  founders"  in  the  class  of  '33,  who  persuaded  the  other 
eight  to  join  them  in  making  up  the  original  fifteen  ; 
still  another  surmise  sets  it  at  "'3X2X2, "or  "  12, "which 
might  refer  to  the  midnight  hour  of  breaking  up,  or 
something  equally  mysterious ;  while  a  fourth  guess  in 
terprets  it  to  mean  "  the  year  3226.  C",  and  connects 
k  with  the  names  of  Alexander  or  Demosthenes.  What 
these  heroes  may  have  in  common  with  the  Skull  and 
Bones  society,  aside  from  departing  this  life  on  or  just 
before  the  year  in  question,  is  not  very  plain  ;  but  it  is 
pretty  well  established  that  Bones'  "322"  refers  to  that 
year  B.  C.,  whatever  may  be  its  additional  significance. 
While  the  class  of  '69  were  in  college  the  hall,  accord 
ing  to  report,  was  twice  broken  into  by  neutrals,  and 
strange  stories  were  circulated  of  the  wonderful  myste- 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  1 5 5 

ries  there  discovered  by  the  interlopers.  It  is  probably 
a  fact  that  these  men  did  really  enter  the  hall,  through 
the  skylight  in  the  roof;  but  there  is  no  reason  for  trust 
ing  their  own  account  of  their  exploits  any  further  than 
this,  since,  if,  as  is  not  unlikely,  the  arrangement  of  things 
inside  prevented  their  making  any  important  discoveries, 
they  would  of  course  invent  a  sufficient  number  of  sup 
posititious  mysteries,  to  clear  themselves  of  the  re 
proach  of  having  ventured  upon  a  fool's  errand.  None 
of  their  statements,  therefore,  have  been  thought  worth 
repeating  here.  A  surreptitious  visit,  real  or  pretended, 
was  hardly  necessary  as  a  preliminary  to  assuring  the  col 
lege  that  "  Bones  keeps  its  most  valuable  documents 
locked  up  in  an  iron  safe,"  since  the  same  fact  holds 
good  for  every  society  after  sophomore  year. 

"  Scroll  and  Key  "  is  the  name  of  the  other  senior 
society,  which  was  founded  nine  years  later  than  its  more 
famous  rival,  that  is  to  say,  in  1841,  by  a  dozen  mem 
bers  of  the  class  of  '42.  Popularly  it  is  known  as 
"  Keys,"  though  this  abbreviation  has  only  come  into 
general  use  within  the  last  half-dozen  years.  Its  pin,  of 
plain  gold,  represents  a  key  lying  across  a  scroll,  and 
its  wood-cut  simply  copies  it.  The  design  is  such  that 
it  is  difficult  to  tell  the  right  side  from  the  wrong,  and 
the  cut,  when  printed  bottom  upwards,  as  it  often  is, 
is  rarely  noticed  as  possessing  other  than  its  ordinary 
look.  The  original  badge  was  a  rectangular  gold  plate, 
of  the  same  size  and  shape  as  the  old  Bones  pin, 
whereon  were  engraved  an  eagle,  poised  above,  suspend 
ing  a  scroll,  and  a  right  hand  below,  grasping  a  key. 
This  is  still  worn,  by  a  single  member  at  a  time,  in 
place  of  the  usual  scroll  and  key,  presumably  as  a  mark 
of  office,  like  society  president  or  something  of  the  sort. 
The  letters  "C.S.P.,"  "C.C.J.,"  are  always  printed  with 
the  society  cut, — the  former  above,  the  latter  below  it, 


IS6  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

— and  with  it  usually  serve  as  the  only  introduction  to 
the  lists  of  members  printed  in  the  Banner  and  else 
where,  though  the  name  "  Scroll  and  Key  "  is  sometimes 
prefixed.  The  Bones  lists,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
ahvays  headed  with  the  full  name  of  the  society.  The 
posters  which,  until  within  a  few  years,  were  put  up 
about  the  college  yard  and  elsewhere  at  Commencement 
season,  for  the  benefit  of  graduates,  displayed  an  eagle 
poised  above  the  ordinary  emblems,  with  no  print — in 
addition  to  the  inevitable  letters — except  the  day  and 
hour  of  the  meeting, — "  9  p.  M.,"  perhaps,  — or  the  nu 
meral  "  142."  A  small,  seal-like  wood-cut  of  the 
society,  displays  the  clasped  hands  upon  an  open  scroll, 
with  "Adelphoi"  in  Greek  capitals  at  the  top,  "  1852  " 
below,  and  at  the  bottom  two  hieroglyphic  characters, 
the  one  like  a  Gothic  "T,"  the  other  like  an  old  style 
Greek  "f; "  while  the  only  trace  of  the  key  is  its  head, 
which  projects  from  the  top  of  the  scroll.  Another, 
steel-engraved,  seal,  represents  the  eagle,  looking  down 
from  above  upon  the  central  scroll  and  key,  upon  which 
the  letters  are  indicated,  while  an  open  right  hand 
reaches  up  from  below.  The  framework  of  the  device  is 
made  up  of  fifteen  oblong  links,  and  its  shape  cannot 
be  better  described  than  by  saying  that  if  there  were 
sixteen  links  it  would  be  an  eight-pointed  star;  as  it 
is,  the  ten  lower  links  make  up  five  points,  but  the  upper 
live — in  place  of  the  six,  which  would  make  the  remain 
ing  three — are  simply  rounded  together.  This,  too, 
was  the  shape  of  the  inner  frame-work  of  the  old  gold- 
plate  badge.  The  present  pin  has  been  said  to  be 
plain,  because  the  eagle  and  hand,  faintly  outlined  upon 
it,  do  not  change  this  general  appearance.  Neither  of 
the  senior  badges  have  their  owners'  names  or  anything 
of  the  sort  engraved  upon  their  backs.  The  invitations  to 
the  "Z.  S."— or  "bum"  held  at  the  middle  of  the  first 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  i$7 

and  second  terms — are  printed  within  a  scroll-like  design 
from  which  the  key  is  absent ;  or  else  with  the  ordinary 
cut  at  the  head  of  the  note.  The  company  of  the 
"  brother  "  is  simply  requested  upon  the  appointed  even 
ing,  and  he  is  directed  to  answer  the  secretary,  which 
officer  is  designated  by  the  letter  "  G.,"  and  is  his  "in 
truth."  Aside  from  these  initial  letters,  there  is  no 
mystery  about  the  affair,  which  is  either  printed  in  gilt, 
or,  if  in  black,  has  mourning  bands  about  the  edges  of 
the  page.  All  society  communications  are  also  for 
warded  in  black-edged  "  return  "  envelopes,  as  in  the 
case  of  Bones,  sealed  in  black  wax  with  the  society 
emblems  and  letters.  There  have  been  several  editions 
of  the  society  catalogue ;  and  it  is  probable  that  a 
printed  list  of  the  elections  is  forwarded  each  year  to 
every  old  member,  in  connection  with  the  invitation  to 
the  celebration  of  Commencement  night.  A  card-size 
photograph  of  each  new  group  of  fifteen  is  doubtless 
similarly  distributed,  either  then  or  afterwards.  In  this 
picture,  the  central  figure  holds  a  large  gilt  model  of 
the  society  badge, — the  six  letters  being  indicated  on 
the  scroll, — and  each  of  the  end  men  grasps  a  large  key, 
pointed  towards  the  centre  of  the  group.  Eight  are 
seated,  including  the  three  mentioned,  and  the  remain 
der  are  standing,  but  the  position  of  each  individual  is 
probably  not  significant.  Enlarged  photographs  of  the 
same  sort  are  handsomely  framed  and  hung  in  the 
rooms  of  graduates.  The  anniversary  of  Commence 
ment  night  used  to  be  announced  among  the  ordinary 
advertisements  of  the  city  papers,  hi  connection  with 
the  society  cut.  More  recently,  at  the  head  of  their 
editorial  columns  of  Commencement  morning,  "  C.S.P. 
-P.V.S.9.P.M.— C.CJ.,"  or  something  of  the  sort,  ap 
peared,  between  double  rules  of  black.  But  this  prac 
tice  has  now  been  abandoned. 


158  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  hall  hitherto  (since  1847,  when  the  house  where 
it  stayed  was  destroyed  by  fire)  occupied  by  the  society 
is  in  the  fourth  story  of  the  Leffingwell  Building,  corner 
of  Church  and  Court  streets,  across  from  the  Tontine 
Hotel.  The  headquarters  of  the  Yale  "  law  depart 
ment  "  are  upon  a  lower  floor  of  the  same  building,  and 
a  Masonic  lodge-room  divides  the  upper  story  with 
Keys.  Judged  from  the  outside,  this  hall  must  at  the 
most  be  limited  to  two  not  very  large  rooms,  and  the 
Keys  men,  when  assembled  in  force,  be  cribbed, 
cabined  and  confined  together  in  uncomfortably  close 
proximity.  This  old  order  of  things,  however,  has 
recently  come  to  an  end,  and  Keys  is  now  in  possession 
of  a  hall,  far  superior  in  costliness  and  architectural 
beauty,  not  only  to  Bones  hall,  but  to  any  college-society 
hall  in  America.  It  stands  on  the  north-west  corner  of 
College  and  Wall  streets,  and  its  erection  had  been 
planned  and  talked  about  for  a  dozen  years  or  more. 
At  midnight  of  Thursday,  Nov.  25,  1869, — the  date 
of  the  fall  "Z.S.," — the  society,  graduates  and  all, 
marched  to  the  vacant  lot,  round  which  they  formed  a 
ring,  while  prayer  was  offered,  and  a  society-song  sung, 
after  which,  a  graduate  with  a  silver  spade  formally 
broke  ground  for  the  new  edifice.  Then  came  the  sing 
ing  of  the  "Troubadour"  song,  and  the  procession, 
dangling  its  keys,  silently  moved  back  to  the  old  quar 
ters  on  Church  street.  Only  the  foundation  of  the 
building  was  laid  before  the  setting  in  of  winter;  but 
the  work  was  resumed  the  following  May,  and  rapidly 
pushed  to  completion ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  the  for 
mal  ceremonies  of  entering  and  taking  possession  will 
be  celebrated  at  the  next  Commencement.  The  structure 
has  a  front  of  36  feet  on  College  street,  with  6  feet  of 
ground  each  side,  and  is  55  feet  long,  with  an  open 
space  of  about  20  feet  before  and  behind,  in  other  words, 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  1 5  9 

it  stands  in  the  center  of  a  lot  48  by  92.  Its  hight  is 
perhaps  35  feet.  The  light  yellow  Cleveland  stone  is 
the  chief  material  of  which  it  is  composed.  This  is  set 
off  by  thin  layers  of  dark  blue  marble,  while  four  pillars 
of  Aberdeen  granite,  with  marble  cappings,  sustain  the 
three  projecting  arches  in  front.  Each  arch  surrounds 
a  narrow  opening,  provided  with  three  bull's  eyes  for 
the  admission  of  air.  Below  the  central  arch  are  a  pair 
of  paneled,  massive  iron  doors,  to  which  entrance  a  flight 
of  half-a-dozen  stone  steps  leads  up  from  either  side. 
Five  similar  arches,  though  without  projections  or  sup 
ports,  serve  to  adorn  and  ventilate  each  side,  and  a  cor 
responding  number  of  closely  protected  scuttle-windows 
communicate  with  the  cellar  below.  Rows  of  short 
pillars — four  at  each  end,  six  at  each  side — surround 
the  top, — -the  central  two  at  the  rear  end  serving  to  hide 
the  chimneys, — and  a  couple  of  stars  are  cut  out  in  the 
stone  between  every  pair  of  them.  The  architect  was 
Richard  M.  Hunt  of  New  York,  and  the  builders  were 
Perkins  £:  Chatfield  of  New  Haven.  The  value  of  the 
entire  property  cannot  be  much  less  than  $50,000,  and 
it  is  to  be  presumed  that  a  good  share  of  that  amount 
has  already  been  raised  by  the  society.  The  "  Kingsley 
Trust  Association,"  which  is  the  legal  style  thereof,  was 
incorporated  at  the  May,  1860,  session  of  the  State 
Legislature,  in  the  names  of  John  A.  Porter  of  '42, 
William  L.  Kingsley  of  '43,  Samuel  C.  Perkins  of  '48, 
Enos  N.  Taftof  '51,  Lebeus  C.  Chapin,  George  E. 
Jackson,  and  Homer  B.  Sprague  of  '52,  Charlton  T. 
Lewis  of  '53,  Calvin  G.  Child  and  Josiah  W.  Harmar  of 
'55,  and  Edward  G.  Mason  and  Mason  Young  of  '60. 
These  comprise  its  best  known  names,  and  were  perhaps 
chosen  on  that  account,  since  only  the  president,  Mr. 
Kingsley,  is  a  resident  of  the  city. 
In  the  Yale  Banger  of  1845,  published  by  the  Sigma 


160  POUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Theta  Sophomores,  is  a  burlesque  of  the  Keys  cut,  rep 
resenting  the  Scroll  as  a  "  Declaration  of  Independence 
from  the  Scull  and  Bone,"  signed  by  the  "great  seal," 
which  consists  of  a  view  of  the  historical  fox  reaching 
after  the  equally  celebrated  sour  grapes.  This  proba 
bly  represents,  with  substantial  accuracy,  the  motive 
which  originated  Keys.  Its  founders,  not  being  lucky 
enough  to  secure  elections  to  Bones,  determined  to  start 
in  business  upon  their  own  account,  and  hence  the  society. 
Its  ceremonies,  customs,  hours  of  meeting,  etc.,  have  all 
been  patterned  after  those  of  Bones,  and  the  nearer  it 
approaches  to  its  model  the  more  of  a  success  it  is 
judged  to  be,  both  by  its  own  members  and  by  the  college 
at  large.  Its  existence  for  the  first  dozen  years  was 
apparently  a  precarious  one.  In  only  three  classes  be 
fore  1852  did  it  obtain  the  regular  number  of  members 
(15),  which  Bones  has  never  varied  in  electing,  but 
ranged  from  nine — the  lowest,  in  '5  T — to  fourteen.  Since 
that  time  exactly  fifteen  names  for  each  class  have  always 
been  printed  in  its  public  lists,  and  'since  1860  exactly 
fifteen  men  and  no  more  have  joined  the  society  from 
each  class.  Previous  to  the  latter  date,  it  was  a  common 
thing  to  give  out  one  or  two  or  more  class  or  secret  elec 
tions,  so  that  in  some  classes  there  have  been  seventeen 
or  eighteen  members,  and  almost  all  the  classes  which  at 
first  fell  below'^the  regular  number,  now  appear  in  the 
catalogue  with  their  full  complement  of  fifteen  names 
apiece.  The  men  who  accepted  these  after-elections  to 
the  society  usually  displayed  their  badge  like  the  others, 
though  sometimes  the  fact  of  their  membership  was 
kept  a  secret  and  they  were  not  allowed  to  wear  them 
about  the  college,  nor  until  after  graduation.  Hence  in 
every  class  to  the  present  day  there  are  almost  always 
one  or  two  men,  who  are  believed  by  many  to  be  "  secret 
members"  of  Keys,  because,  being  friends  of  the  "  crowd/' 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  1 6 1 

they  naturally  associate  with  it,  as  they  would  were  there 
no  such  society  in  existence.  It  is  also  rumored,  with 
less  probability,  that  notable  men  are  sometimes  chosen 
as  honorary  members.  George  Vanderhoff,  the  reader, 
is  one  of  them,  according  to  the  authority  of  the  Banger, 
— which,  however,  may  have  meant  the  statement  for  a 
joke.  Similar  rumors  are  also  sometimes  started  in 
regard  to  Bones,  but  are  far  less  generally  credited,  and 
are  probably  altogether  groundless.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  fact  of  there  being  a  secret  or  honorary  member,  of 
there  being  more  or  less  than  fifteen  members  from  each 
and  every  class  since  1833,  has  never  been  in  a  single 
case  authenticated.  Up  to  as  recent  a  date  as  1860, 
Keys  had  great  difficulty  in  making  up  its  crowd,  rarely 
being  able  to  secure  the  full  fifteen  upon  the  night  of 
giving-  out  elections,  but,  by  dint  of  electioneering  and 
"packing"  in  the  interval  between  that  time  and  initia 
tion  night,  managed — after  1851 — to  swing  out  the  ortho 
dox  number  of  new  badges  upon  Presentation  morning. 
Probably  it  would  have  given  pledges  in  advance,  like 
the  lower-class  societies,  save  that  in  those  days  any  one 
standing  the  slightest  chance  for  Bones  preferred  it  to 
a  "  sure  thing  on"  the  other  society.  The  true  Caesar-or- 
no-one  sentiment  seems  to  have  had  full  sway,  and  the 
best  men  of  the  class  who  did  not  secure  Bones  elec 
tions  apparently  preferred  to  go  through  senior  year  as 
neutrals  rather  than  as  members  of  a  confessedly  infe 
rior  society.  The  proportion  of  "  big  men"  among  the 
neutral  Seniors  was  consequently  much  greater  then  than 
in  these  latter  days.  Keys,  in  fact,  up  to  the  time  when  it 
attained  its  twenty-first  birthday,  occupied  a  position  in 
college  regard  very  much  analagous  to  that  more  recently 
held  by  the  Diggers'  society,  to  be  described  hereafter. 
It  is  only  within  the  last  lustrum  that  it  has  come  to  be 
a  rival  of  Bones,  and  that  the  half-loaf  sentiment  has 


1 62  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

grown  common,  which  prompts  a  man  when  his  chances 
for  the  latter  are  spoiled,  to  "lay"  diligently  for  the 
former. 

The  Keys  mode  of  giving  out  elections — as  well  as  the 
rest  of  its  customs — corresponds  as  nearly  as  possible 
to  the  practice  of  Bones.  Formerly  the  fifteen  mem 
bers,  each  carrying  a  key  some  two  feet  in  length,  in  a 
body  silently  marched  to  the  rooms  of  the  men  who  had 
been  chosen  ;  and  then  the  leader — possibly  displaying 
the  large  gilt  scroll-and-key  model  before  mentioned — 
may  have  said  simply,  "  Do  you  accept  ?"  Of  late,  how 
ever,  the  practice  is  for  two  members, — one  a  Senior,  the 
other  a  graduate, — each  carrying  one  of  the  exagger 
ated  keys,  to  proceed  together  to  the  room  of  each 
chosen  man.  The  Senior  raps  sharply  with  his  key 
upon  the  door,  and,  both  stepping  in,  says,  "  I  offer  you 
an  election  to  the  so-called  Scroll  and  Key.  Do  you 
accept  ?"  If  the  answer  is  Yes,  both  Keys  men  shake 
the  Junior  by  the  hand,  and  tramp  back  to  their  hall, 
where  the  result  of  the  first  election  is  received  before 
a  party  start  out  to  confer  the  second,  and  so  on  for  the 
others.  On  this  account  the  elections  progress  much 
more  slowly  than  in  the  case  of  Bones,  and  more  oppor 
tunities  are  given  to  the  rabble  in  the  yard  to  yell 
"  Keys  !  Keys  !  Keys  !  "  and  surge  about  the  bearers  of 
those  implements,  whose  approach  is  usually  announced, 
by  self-stationed  outposts,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
State  House  steps.  In  1868,  all  the  Bones  elections 
had  been  given  out  for  more  than  an  hour,  and  the 
"  packed  Keys  crowd  "  of  '69  had  begun  to  feel  a  trifle 
nervous,  when  the  first  key-bearers  appeared  in  the  yard. 
There  seems  to  be  no  very  great  significance  in  the 
order  in  which  the  elections  are  conferred,  except  that 
the  one  first  received  is  perhaps  to  be  interpreted  as 
especially  honorable ;  but  on  the  other  hand  this  is 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  1 63 

sometimes  offered  to  a  man,  who  is  by  no  means  the 
society's  first  choice,  in  order  if  possible  to  anticipate 
Bones  in  securing  him. 

The  initiation  takes  place  at  the  same  time  as  the 
other  one,  and  like  it  lasts  till  morning.  The  rendezvous 
for  the  candidates  is  probably  some  room  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  the  hall,  at  all  events  is  outside  the  college 
yard,  and  as  the  hall  is  not  so  convenient  to  the  colleges 
as  that  of  Bones  the  neutrals  pay  less  attention  to  what 
takes  place  there  on  initiation  night.  Visitors  who  may 
be  stopping  at  the  Tontine  Hotel  on  the  night  of  Wooden 
Spoon,  however,  seldom  sleep  very  soundly,  if  their 
rooms  chance  to  be  situated  upon  the  north  side  of  the 
building.  Resident  and  other  graduates  attend  the 
initiations,  and  the  regular  meetings  also, — though  to  a 
less  extent  than  in  Bones, — and  the  rule  requiring  the 
presence  of  active  members  on  Thursday  nights  from 
eight  o'clock  till  two,  is  also  strictly  enforced.  An  ab 
sent  member  of  '68,  suspected  of  make-believe  sickness, 
was  one  time  forcibly  hurried  off  to  the  meeting  by  two 
classmates,  who  rushed  up  from  the  hall  for  that  pur 
pose,  with  a  great  display  of  crossed  keys  ;  and  the 
procedure  may  be  gone  through  with  in  other  instances 
which  excite  less  attention  than  did  that, — though  the 
cases  where  it  is  necessary  to  enforce  discipline  are  of 
course  uncommon.  At  the  close  of  its  meetings,  the 
society  was  in  the  habit  of  marching  up  through  the 
green,  past  the  State  House,  to  the  college  yard,  singing 
on  the  way,  or  just  before  disbanding,  the  well-known 
song,  "  Gaily  the  Troubadour  touched  his  Guitar." 
Though  this  was  always  finely  done,  and  very  acceptable 
to  all  who  heard  it,  the  faculty — induced,  it  is  said,  by  the 
discordant  howlings  of  the  "  Stones  men  " — included 
Keys  in  the  general  edict  promulgated  last  year  against 
society  singing,  and  ordered  its  discontinuance.  The 


1 64  FOVK   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

current  traditions  in  regard  to  Keys  are  not  very 
numerous,  nor  is  the  belief  in  its  mysterious  origin 
wide-spread,  as  in  the  case  of  Bones.  Its  letters  are 
supposed  to  signify :  "  Collegium  Sanctum  Pontificum ; 
Collegium  Conservat  Jupiter''  Bones  having  set  up 
Demosthenes  as  its  patron  saint,  Keys  seemed  deter 
mined  to  "go  one  better"  and  claim  the  recognition  of 
great  Zeus  himself.  "  Zenome  "  is  one  the  society  words 
supposed  to  possess  mysterious  significance.  According 
to  rumor,  a  magnificent  stuffed  eagle  forms  one  of  the 
chief  decorations  of  its  hall  •  though  as  this  report 
originated  with  a  '66  neutral  who  professed  to  have 
('  been  there,"  not  much  reliance  should  be  placed  upon 
i:.  Keys,  like  Bones,  also  keeps  the  photographs  of  its 
members,  a  library,  paintings,  pictures,  obsolete  society 
badges,  old  college  mementos,  and  general  memorabilia. 
A  third  senior  society  also  existed  during  the  time 
that  the  class  of  '69  was  in  college.  Its  name,  taken 
from  its  badge,  was  "  Spade  and  Grave."  The  spade, 
partly  thrust  into  the  grave,  rested  upon  the  footstone  of 
the  same,  and  upon  the  headstone  was  represented  a 
crown, — gold  of  course  being  the  material  of  the  entire 
pin.  The  grave  was  perhaps  a  little  more  than  an  inch 
in  length,  and  the  badge  had  one  or  two  variations  in 
size  and  shape.  The  "  Bed  and  Broom,"  it  was  at  first 
called  by  outsiders ;  and,  by  the  more  respectful  ones, 
the  society  was  known  as  "  Graves,"  and  its  members 
as  "Graves  men."  None  of  these  names  were  ever 
popular,  however,  and  "  Diggers  "  soon  came  to  be  the 
only  title  by  which  the  society  or  its  members  were 
referred  to.  Bones  men,  among  themselves,  also 
adopted  this  name  for  them.  "  To  give  community  and 
sweetness  to  the  eating  of  sour  grapes  "  was,  even  more 
notoriously  than  in  the  case  of  the  original  Keys  men, 
the  object  for  which  the  Diggers  started  their  society. 


THE  SOCIE T\:  SYSTEM.  1 65 

The  immediate  cause  which  banded  them  together  in 
the  scheme  was  a  quarrel  in  the  class  of  '64.  Of  the 
five  Yale  Lit.  editors  in  that  class,  three  had  been 
chosen  to  Bones  and  two  were  neutrals.  One  of  these 
two  published,  as  a  leading  article  in  the  magazine  for 
February  of  that  year,  a  piece  called  "  Collegial  Ingenu 
ity,"  reflecting  on  the  mode  by  which  men  may  worm  their 
way  into  Bones,  and,  it  was  claimed,  making  personal 
insinuations  against  a  particular  member  of  that  society ; 
and  on  this  latter  ground  the  Bones  editors,  who  formed 
a  majority  of  the  five,  voted  to  suppress  the  article,  and 
requested  its  writer  to  produce  another  to  take  the  place 
of  it,  —  themselves  meanwhile  seizing  upon  all  the 
printed  copies.  The  neutral  editor  refused  to  obey,  and 
called  a  class  meeting  which  voted  to  sustain  him,  and 
commanded  the  Bones  editors  to  surrender  the  maga 
zines  within  a  certain  time,  or  be  expelled  from  office. 
As  they  paid  no  attention  to  the  order,  the  class 
elected  three  neutrals  in  their  places,  and  these, 
with  the  two  original  neutral  editors,  duly  brought  out 
a  new  edition  of  the  February  number,  "  Collegial  In 
genuity  "  and  all,  and  edited  the  two  following  numbers, 
— with  the  latter  of  which  their  term  of  office  expired  by 
limitation.  The  Bones  editors  meanwhile  issued  the 
February  number, — with  an  explanation  of  their  action 
printed  in  place  of  the  obnoxious  "  leader,"  but  other 
wise  unchanged, — and  duly  published  the  two  remaining 
numbers  of  their  term,  still  keeping  the  five  original 
names  at  the  head  of  the  title-page,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  Thus,  for  three  months,  there  were  two 
issues  of  the  Z//.,  each  of  which  claimed  to  be  the 
"  regular  "  one.  The  Bones  editors  were  really  in  the 
right,  as  the  class  had  no  legal  power  to  interfere  in  the 
matter,  and  the  three  magazines  issued  by  the  other 
editors  have  been  known  as  the  "second  issue."  The 


1 66  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

five  members  of  that  second  editorial  board  of  '64  have 
the  credit  of  founding  Diggers',  and  they  with  ten  other 
classmates  first  swung  out  the  Spade  and  Grave  badge 
at  the  beginning  of  the  summer  term  of  that  year.  On 
the  Thursday  before  Presentation  Day,  elections  were 
given  out  to  fifteen  members  of  '65,  who  were  the  first 
Diggers  to  have  their  names  in  print  (in  the  Banner  of 
the  following  autumn).  The  grave  scene  in  "  Hamlet," 
wherein  the  digger  tosses  up  the  skull  and  bones  with 
his  spade,  is  said  to  have  suggested  the  badge  as  a  fit 
emblem  to  typify  the  hostility  of  the  new  society  to  the 
old  one,  and  its  power  ultimately  to  work  the  overthrow 
of  the  haughty  Skull  and  Bones  itself.  Its  hall  was 
in  the  Lyon  Building,  on  Chapel  street,  on  the  same 
floor  with  that  of  Gamma  Nu  ;  was  supplied  with  com 
mon  iron  doors  without  and  a  billiard  table  within  ;  and 
was  reputed  to  be  elegantly  furnished,  and  among  other 
things  to  have  one  of  its  rooms  entirely  covered  with 
black  velvet.  In  February,  1870,  as  already  stated,  its 
premises  were  taken  possession  of  and  have  since  been 
occupied  by  the  sophomore  society  of  Theta  Psi.  Its 
wood  cut  was  simply  a  copy  of  its  badge  ;  and  the  same 
design,  enlarged,  carved  in  black-walnut  and  mounted  in 
a  frame  of  the  same  wood,  was  displayed  in  the  rooms  of 
members,  as  a  sort  of  poster ;  though  the  practice  was 
not  much  in  vogue  after  the  first  year  or  two. 

The  society  started  under  a  cloud,  and  never  emerged 
from  it,  but  rather  seemed  to  fall  deeper  and  deeper  into 
its  shade  the  older  it  grew.  It  was  always  despised  and 
looked  down  upon.  Even  those  who  joined  it,  in  many 
cases  cursed  and  ridiculed  it  by  turns,  up  to  the  very 
moment  of  accepting  their  elections.  Spite  of  careful 
packing  and  electioneering  in  advance,  it  always  had 
difficulty  in  making  up  its  crowd  on  the  same  night  with 
the  other  societies,  and  it  always  had  elections  refused. 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  167 

No  one  standing  the  least  chance  for  Bones  or  Keys 
could  be  got  to  go  to  it,  and  the  best  of  those  left  out 
by  these  societies  preferred  to  remain  neutrals  altogether. 
Psi  U  men  used  to  boast  that  no  member  of  their  soci 
ety  ever  became  a  Digger;  and  the  four  classes  between 
the  first  and  last  were  certainly  composed  exclusively  of 
Delta  Phi  and  DKE  men.  There  was,  however,  one 
member  of  Psi  U  among  the  founders,  and  four  in  '69 
accepted  elections, — much  to  the  chagrin  of  their  com 
rades.  Everyone  sneered  at  the  society,  including  many 
of  course  who  would  gladly  have  joined  it  had  they 
been  able  ;  but  the  scrubbiest  neutral  of  them  all  would 
affect  to  take  offense  were  such  an  idea  hinted  at,  and 
stoutly  assert  that,  "  had  the  Diggers  ventured  to  offer 
him  an  election,  he  would  have  indignantly  hurled  back 
the  insult  in  their  faces  !"  This  show  of  independence 
after  election  time  is  past  is  quite  a  common  thing ;  but 
the  men  of  '69,  even  as  Juniors,  used  to  shout  a  sort  of 
chorus,  "  Todtengraber  ist  gilt,"  to  the  tune  of  "  Trunca- 
dillo"  ;  they  equipped  a  burlesque  "spade  and  grave" 
in  the  college  yard  one  day  ;  and  in  other  ways  so  defied 
the  powers  above  them  that  it  became  a  problem 
whether  the  Diggers  of  '68  could  secure  any  successors. 
There  was  the  usual  amount  of  electioneering  and  pack 
ing,  but  on  election  night  only  three  men  could  by  the 
most  urgent  entreaties  be  secured,  from  the  indefinite 
number  to  whom  elections  were  offered ;  so  these  three 
were  released  and  no  new  Digger  pins  were  swung  forth 
upon  the  morning  of  Presentation  Day.  The  next  pub 
lic  appearance  of  the  society  was  on  the  first  Friday 
morning  of  the  following  October,  when  fifteen  senioric 
shirt-bosoms  were  adorned  by  as  many  new  badges,  the 
design  being  a  crown  from  within  which  projected  the 
ends  of  a  crossed  sword  and  scepter.  This  was  super 
seded  the  following  term  by  a  larger  sized  pin  of  the 


1 68  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

«e«me  pattern.  By  a  pretty  thorough  canvassing  of  the 
class,  in  the  three  months'  interval,  these  new  members 
had  been  raked  together,  and  induced  to  "  run"  the  soci 
ety  for  a  year,  in  the  hope  that  under  a  changed  name 
the  same  old  story  could  not  be  told  concerning  them. 
At  least  half  of  them  were  secretly  pledged  and  initiated 
before  Commencement,  and  wore  the  old  Grave  badge 
during  vacation,  in  localities  where  they  would  be  un 
likely  to  meet  with  Yale  undergraduates.  From  the 
headstone  of  this  old  badge,  it  will  be  observed,  the 
crown  itself  was  taken.  Above  the  old  cut,  in  the  Ban 
ner,  the  name  "  Spade  and  Grave  "  was  printed  in  full ; 
while  above  the  new  crown  design  were  simply  the  let 
ters,  "  S.  L.  M.  "  ( popularly  translated  "  Slim "  or 
"  Slimy"),  which  had  not  before  been  made  public, 
though  reckoned  among  the  original  mysteries  of  Dig 
gers'.  Freshmen  spoke  of  the  society  as  "  Crown  and 
Scepter,"  or  "  Sword  and  Crown,"  but  upper-class  men 
clung  relentlessly  to  the  old  title,  and  the  doom  of  Dig 
gers'  was  sealed.  Its  usual  arts  were  wasted  upon  the 
class  of  '70  ;  not  one  of  them  would  pledge,  either 
before,  on,  or  after,  election  night ;  and  so,  after  a  pre 
carious  existence  of  five  years,  it  was  forced  to  give  up 
the  hopeless  fight  and  the  ghost. 

Like  Keys',  its  customs  were  all  modeled  as  closely 
as  possible  after  those  of  Bones,  which  it  was  to  spade 
out  of  existence  so  quickly.  Three  men  always  came 
up  from  the  hall  to  give  out  each  election,  two  of  the 
trio  walking  abreast  in  front,  and  the  third  following 
close  upon  their  rear.  A  dark  lantern  or  a  club  was 
often  carried  by  one  of  them.  The  yells  and  outcries 
with  which  the  rabble  greeted  the  approach  of  Digger 
election  carriers  were  far  more  prolonged  and  uproarious 
than  in  the  case  of  the  other  societies.  The  Juniors 
upon  whom  they  called  would  be  invoked  with  such  cries 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  169 

as  :  "  Kick  'em  out,  Jim !"  "Oh,  Tom  !  don't  be  a  Dig* 
ger !"  "  Shut  your  door  on  'em,  Jack !  Don't  let  'em  fool 
you !"  and  so  on  ;  while  the  Diggers  themselves  would 
be  treated  to  all  manner  of  compliments  and  personal 
attentions,  such  as  were  never  bestowed  upon  the  other 
election  carriers.  "  How  can  I  leave  Thee,"  was  the 
song  sometimes  sung  outside  at  the  close  of  the  meet 
ings,  either  while  marching,  or  on  arriving  at  the  col 
lege  yard  ;  otherwise  the  procession  silently  tramped  up 
Chapel  street  to  South  College,  and  so  on  in  front  ot 
the  row,  dropping  its  men  at  each  entry  until  none  were 
left.  It  was  believed  to  have  had  a  good  many  secret 
members,  —  even  including  some  from  the  Scientific 
School,  —  and  several  '63  men  are  known  to  have  be 
longed  to  it.  After  the  change  of  base  in  1868,  the 
graduate  members  ceased  to  wear  the  old  Grave  badge. 
The  society  was  unincorporated,  and  had  never  printed 
any  catalogue.  Its  letters  were  supposed  to  represent 
the  motto,  Seep t rum  Ligonibus  Mors. 

Not  only  do  senior-society  men  never  mention  their 
own  society  in  the  presence  of  others,  but  they  never 
even  refer  to  the  existence  of  a  rival  society,  and  when 
an  outsider  mentions  this  in  their  presence,  even  to  a 
third  party,  they  appear  to  take  offense,  and  perhaps 
withdraw.  So,  too,  they  are  offended  if  a  man  sings,  or 
even  hums  the  air,  of  the  songs  which  they  sometimes 
sing  in  public ;  though  these  are  familiar  melodies,  and 
have  long  been  procurable  in  the  form  of  sheet  music. 
This  same  fact  holds  true,  to  a  lesser  extent,  in  the  case 
of  the  junior  and  sophomore  societies.  A  certain  air 
gets  in  a  measure  identified  with  a  particular  society 
song ;  and  as  members  of  the  society  never  use  it 
except  in  singing  together,  they  dislike  to  hear  it 
whistled  by  an  outsider.  A  Sophomore,  for  instance, 
a  few  years  ago,  by  persistently  whistling,  "  All  on  a 
9 


17°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE, 

summer's  day,"  would  probably  have  injured  his  chances 
of  a  DKE  election ;  and,  in  the  case  of  Psi  U,  perhaps 
the  same  would  still  be  true  of  one  who  should  be  con 
stantly  humming,  "  In  a  few  days."  Senior-society  men 
may  also  refuse  to  speak  when  passing  in  front  of  their 
hall,  and  in  some  cases  to  notice  a  neutral  classmate 
whom  they  may  chance  to  meet  after  eight  o'clock  of  a 
Thursday  evening.  An  instance  is  related  in  the  class 
of  '67  of  two  Bones  men  who  brought  from  their  meet 
ing  a  sick  classmate  and  put  him  to  bed  in  his  room, 
without  paying  any  attention  to  his  neutral  chum  who 
was  there  present,  though  he  was  also  a  classmate  with 
whom  they  were  on  friendly  terms.  This  exaggerated 
display  of  secrecy  is  quite  a  modern  outgrowth,  how 
ever,  being  altogether  unknown  to  the  old  members  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago,  and  it  attained  its  highest 
pitch  in  the  class  just  mentioned,  —  since  when,  senior- 
society  men  have  conducted  themselves  much  more 
sensibly.  For  many  evident  reasons,  the  costs  of 
membership  in  a  senior  society  are  much  greater 
than  in  any  other,  though  most  of  their  money  is  raised 
by  voluntary  contributions,  and  a  man  eligible  in  other 
respects  is  not  kept  out  on  account  of  his  poverty.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  man's  wealth  of  course  adds  to  his 
chances  of  election  in  senior  year  more  than  in  any 
other.  The  annual  running  expenses  of  a  society,  in 
which  graduates  take  so  prominent  a  part,  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  be  borne  by  fifteen  men  alone,  and  there 
are  doubtless  permanent  funds  whose  income  is  avail 
able  for  such  purposes, — at  least  in  Bones,  whose  prop 
erty  is  fully  paid  for.  To  increase  this  fund,  almost 
every  old  member  sends  in  an  annual  contribution, 
according  to  his  means,  for  five  or  ten  years  after 
graduation  day. 

It  is  in  senior  year  alone  that  the  neutrals  largely  out- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  171 

number  the  society  men,  that  they  have  nothing  to 
hope  for  in  the  way  of  class  elections,  and  that  they  are 
not  overawed  by  the  presence  of  upper-class  men. 
These  three  circumstances  combine  to  foster  in  some  of 
them  a  sort  of  reckless  hostility  towards  these  societies, 
such  as  is  not  felt  towards  those  of  the  earlier  years. 
This  displays  itself  in  a  variety  of  ways.  The  conduct 
of  the  neutrals  when  the  senior  elections  are  given  out 
has  been  already  described,  and  the  fact  noticed,  at 
least  by  implication,  that  they  never  in  the  least  inter 
fere  with  the  similar  ceremonies  of  the  other  societies. 
Nor  yet  do  they  ever  attempt  to  break  into  the  halls  of 
the  latter.  It  was  in  the  class  of  '66  that  this  hostility 
first  definitely  displayed  itself,  in  the  institution  of  a  sort 
of  a  mock  "  society  "  called  "  Bowl  and  Stones," — the 
name  being  a  take-off  on  that  of  Bones,  arnd  the  duties 
of  its  members  being  simply  to  range  about  the  colleges 
at  a  late  hour  on  Thursday  night,  or  early  on  Friday 
morning  when  the  senior  societies  disbanded,  singing 
songs  in  ridicule  of  the  latter,  blocking  up  the  entries, 
and  making  a  general  uproar.  The  refrain  of  one  song, 
to  the  tune  of  "  Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  was  "  Hurrah ! 
Hurrah  !  for  jolly  Bowl  and  Stones  "  ;  of  another,  to  the 
tune  of  "  Babylon,"  "  Haughty  Bones  is  fallen,  and  we 
gwine  down  to  occupy  the  Skull."  Another  function  of 
the  "  Stones  men  "  was  to  offer  bogus  elections  to  simple 
minded  classmates,  or  even  to  under-class  men, — whom 
they  were  sometimes  able  to  "  sell."  In  the  class  of 
'67  they  were  at  their  worst,  and  wantonly  smashed 
bottles  of  ink  upon  the  front  of  Bones  hall,  and  tore  the 
chains  from  its  fence.  On  the  Thursday  morning  which 
preceded  the  Presentation  Day  of  1868,  the  Stones  men 
of  that  class  posted  up  a  comic  handbill,  purporting  to 
show  the  "order  of  exercises"  which  would  be  observed 
by  the  senior  societies  in  giving  out  their  elections  that 


172  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

evening.  There  was  some  little  wit  employed  in  the 
composition  of  this  notice,  and  is  was  the  only  thing 
emanating  from  the  "society"  that  was  not  at  once 
weak  and  discreditable.  The  modified  name,  "  Bull  and 
Stones,"  then  first  appeared  ;  which  form  has  since  been 
retained.  Some  members  of  the  class  of '70  even  went 
so  far  as  to  procure  a  small  gilt  representation  of  "  a 
bull"  standing  upon  "stones,"  which  was  worn  as  a 
burlesque  badge  pin,  even  in  public,  and  in  some  cases 
quite  regularly,  during  the  first  term  of  their  senior  year. 
Of  course  there  is  nothing  to  this  "society"  except  what 
has  been  told ;  its  "  members  "  are  few  or  many  accord 
ing  to  the  state  of  the  weather ;  and  any  neutral  senior 
who  is  ready  to  join  a  crowd  for  making  an  uproar  on 
Thursday  night  is,  from  that  fact  only,  a  good  and 
regular  "  Stones  man."  Indeed,  the  name  has  of  late 
come  to  be  accepted  as  a  synonym  for  any  senior-society 
neutral  whatever;  and  everyone  not  elected  to  either  of 
the  two  societies  is  said  to  "belong  to  Stones."  At  the 
time  of  the  last  initiation,  the  Stones  men  seized  upon 
and  confiscated  for  their  own  use  the  ice-cream  and 
other  good  things  which  the  confectioner  was  engaged 
in  taking  into  Bones  hall.  Since  then,  one  or  two  pro 
jected  "raids"  of  the  same  sort  have  been  frustrated  by 
the  presence  of  a  policeman.  Now-a-days,  Thursday 
night  is  the  favorite  time  for  the  more  depraved  Stones 
men  to  "go  off  on  a  bum"  together,  and  afterwards 
wake  the  echoes  of  the  college  yard  with  their  discordant 
howl  ings. 

That  this  "society''  showed  no  signs  of  existence  in 
the  class  of  '69  was  perhaps  due  in  great  measure  to 
the  existence  of  another  more  creditable  organization, 
some  of  whose  members  would  probably,  save  for  it, 
have  been  leading  "  Stones  men."  On  the  morning  of 
Presentation  Pay,  1868,  fourteen  men,  who  had  been 


THE  SO  CIE  TV  S  \  rS  TEM.  1 7  3 

neutrals  since  freshman  year,  were  noticed  to  wear  upon 
their  shirt  bosoms,  gilt  coffin  lids,  about  an  inch  in 
length.  Their  names  were  printed  in  the  annuals  of 
the  next  term,  under  the  "  senior-society "  heading, 
beneath  a  wood-cut  of  the  badge,  above  which  appeared 
the  letters  "  E.T.L.,"  but  no  name.  They  were  spoken 
of  as  "  Coffin  men,"  or  "  ETL's,"  when  mentioned  at 
all ;  and,  so  far  as  known,  met  quite  regularly  on  Thurs 
day  nights,  perhaps  in  some  room  rented  for  the  pur 
pose.  They  said  nothing  in  regard  to  themselves  or  the 
regular  senior  societies,'  and  they  attempted  to  give  no 
elections  in  the  class  of  '70.  The  society  passed  in  the 
class  for  a  joke  ;  but,  for  the  negative  benefit  it  effected 
in  restraining  some  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
uproarious,  as  well  as  for  the  positive  advantages  it 
may  have  conferred  upon  all  its  members,  it  deserves  to 
be  held  in  grateful  recollection.  Perhaps  somewhat 
similar  to  this  was  the  "  Tea-Kettle  "  society,  established 
in  the  class  of  '53,  which  has  left  nothing  behind  it  save 
the  announcement  of  its  birth  in  the  Lit.  Another 
short-lived  association  was  the  "  Sword  and  Crown " 
which  was  existing  in  1843  with  fifteen  members.  Its 
badge  was  a  rectangular  gold  plate,  upon  which,  within 
an  ornamental  border,  the  appropriate  emblems  were 
engraved.  These  did  not  much  resemble  the  last  badge 
of  the  Diggers,  as  the  crown  was  a  much  more  elaborate 
and  highly  ornamented  affair,  and  the  sword  and  scepter 
were  crossed  behind  rather  than  within  it.  An  existing 
poster  showing  a  wood-cut  of  the  simple  emblems  bears 
the  direction,  "^if  S.T.G.  8.30  A.M."  Another  poster, 
which  perhaps  had  no  connection  with  this  or  any  other 
society,  shows  the  three  letters  "  lota  Kappa  Sigma," 
printed  in  heavy  black  type,  with  "24!)"  appended. 
Still  another,  represents  a  naked  figure  just  trundling 
over  a  precipice  a  wheelbarrow  in  which  are  loaded  a 


J74  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

skull  and  some  bones  and  a  scroll  and  a  key  and  a  star 
and  a  dart.  The  "  Star  and  Dart  "  society  was  estab 
lished  in  1843,  and  apparently  occupied  a  position 
somewhat  analogous  to  the  present  one  of  Bull  and 
Stones,  though  it  really  had  an  organization  of  some 
sort.  The  frame-work  of  its  rectangular  gold-plate 
badge  was  an  exact  copy  of  that  of  the  Bones  pin,  and 
the  emblems  of  the  two  societies  now  existing  formed 
the  chief  part  of  the  engraved  central  design.  The 
eagle  of  Keys,  that  is  to  say,  was  represented  as  fiercely 
picking  to  pieces  the  Skull  and  Bones  at  its  feet,  while 
a  Dart,  appearing  in  the  right  upper  corner,  was  about 
to  destroy  the  eagle,  and  a  Star  in  the  left  upper  corner 
was  supposed  to  denote  "  the  prosperity  and  final  suc 
cess  of  the  society  over  its  rivals."  A  wood-cut  copy 
of  this  design  surmounted  the  following  notice  printed 
among  the  advertisements  of  a  New  Haven,  newspaper  : 
"  Nos  in  vitafratres  sumus.  C.  2954  a.  F.  co  dd  Z  f  ~ . 
There  will  be  a  general  meeting  in  New  Haven  on 
Thursday  evening,  Aug.  15,  1844.  Yale  College,  Aug. 
10."  Possibly  there  were  other  Commencement  times 
at  which  a  similar  notice  was  printed,  and  doubtless 
posters  to  the  same  effect  used  also  to  be  displayed 
about  the  college  buildings  at  such  seasons.  After  a 
period  of  suspended  animation,  the  society  was  revived 
in  the  class  of '49,  and  the  members  belonging  to  it  in 
the  classes  of  '50  and  '51  (fifteen  in  one  case,  eleven  in 
the  other)  had  their  names  published  in  the  Banner,  in 
connection  with  the  society  cut  and  the  numeral  "  2954." 
From  this  publicity,  as  well  as  the  character  of  many 
of  the  members,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  there  was 
really  a  little  something  to  the  society,  and  that  its 
existence  was  not  altogether  contemptible.  Whether  it 
had  a  hall  of  its  own,  and  regular  weekly  meetings  and 
exercises ;  whether  it  made  any  pretensions  to  equality 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  1 7  5 

with  the  two  reputable  societies ;  whether  it  was  so 
hostile  to  them  as  its  badge  would  imply ;  whether  its 
crowd  was  made  up  before,  at  the  same  time,  or  after 
the  other  elections  were  given  out ;  and  whether  it  died 
by  choice  or  by  necessity, —  all  these  things,  on  the 
other  hand,  must  remain  uncertainties,  until  some 
traitorous  ex-member  thereof  shall  reveal  to  an  anxiously 
expectant  world  the  real  history  and  mystery  of  the  late 
Star  and  Dart. 

Among  the  many  Bones  men  worthy  of  mention  are  : 
Henry  C.  Kingsley  of  '34,  treasurer  of  the  college  ; 
Prof.  Thomas  A.  Thacher  of  '35  ;  Col.  Henry  C.  Dem- 
ing  of  '36  ;  Attorney  General  William  M.  Evarts,  Profs. 
Chester  S.  Lyman  and  Benjamin  Silliman,  of '37  ;  Rev. 
Dr.  Joseph  P.  Thompson  of  '38  ;  Prevost  Charles  J. 
Stille  of  '39  ;  Prof.  James  M.  Hoppin  of  '40  ;  Gen. 
William  T.  S.  Barry  and  Donald  G.  Mitchell,  of  '41  ; 
Henry  Stevens,  F.  R.  S.,  of  '43  ;  Senator  Orris  S.  Ferry 
of  '44  ;  Gen.  Dick  Taylor  of  '45  ;  Henry  B.  Harrison  of 
'46  ;  Henry  T.  Blake  and  Dwight  Foster,  of  '48  ;  Charles 
G.  Came,  Profs.  William  B.  Clark  and  Timothy  Dwight, 
of  '49  ;  President  Andrew  D.  White  of  '53  ;  Dr.  John 
W.  Hooker  of  '54  ;  Rev.  Elisha  Mulford  of  '55  ;  Wil 
liam  H.  W.  Campbell,  editor  of  the  Norwich  Bulletin, 
Chauncey  M.  Depew,  N.  Y.  secretary  of  State,  and  Prof. 
Lewis  R.  Packard,  of  '56  ;  Gen.  John  T.  Croxton  and 
Prof.  Cyrus  Northrop,  of  '57  ;  Addison  Van  Name  of 
'58,  librarian  of  the  college  ;  Eugene  Schuyler  of  '59,  U. 
S.  consul  at  Moscow ;  Edward  R.  Sill  of  '61  ;  and  Prof. 
Edward  B.  Coe  of  '62.  The  most  prominent  Keys  men 
have  already  been  mentioned  in  naming  its  twelve  incor- 
porators,  but  additional  names  to  be  noticed  are :  Gen. 
Theodore  Runyon  of  '42  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Gordon  Hall  of  '43  ; 
Robert  P.  Farris  of  '47,  editor  of  the  Missouri  Republi 
can  ;  Rev.  John  E.  Todd  of  '55,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Todd, 


176  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  opponent  of  college  secret  societies  ;  Sidney  E: 
Morse  of  '56,  publisher  of  the  N.  Y.  Observer ;  Gen. 
John  W.  Swayne  of  '56  ;  Dr.  Daniel  G.  Brinton  of  '58 ; 
Prof.  Daniel  C.  Eaton  of  '60  ;  and  Joseph  L.  Shipley  of 
'6  r,  editor  of  the  Scranton  Republican.  Five  Keys  men 
and  one  Digger  made  up  the  famous  "  Wilbur  Bacon 
crew"  of  1865. 

Formerly,  when  Seniors  took  a  more  active  part  than 
now  in  the  junior  societies,  men  who  did  not  belong  to 
these  were  often  chosen  to  the  senior  societies,  but  of 
late  a  membership  in  the  former  is  a  necessary  stepping 
stone  for  admission  to  the  latter  ;  not  confessedly,  of 
course,  but  by  the  rule  which  is  sure  to  force  a  junior 
society  into  electing  every  man  eligible  for  election  a 
year  later,  and  to  compel  every  such  man  to  accept  such 
election.  It  has  been  noticed  of  late  years  that  Psi  U 
generally  has  a  majority  in  Bones,  and  DKE  in  Keys, 
though  in  '71  Psi  U  had  six  men  in  Bones  and  nine  in 
Keys,  to  DKE's  nine  and  six.  It  should  not  be  inferred 
from  this  that  senior-society  men  allow  their  junior  year 
or  earlier  society  connections  to  prejudice  them  in  elect 
ing  their  successors.  They  apparently  have  regard  for 
the  interests  of  their  senior  society  simply,  and  choose 
those  whom  they  think  will  most  benefit  it,  without 
much  regard  to  outside  considerations.  Much  of  the 
excitement  over  the  election  of  Cochs  and  Lit.  Editors 
turns  upon  the  question  of  senior  societies.  Each  one 
of  these  officers  is  supposed  to  "  stand  a  chance,"  and 
shortly  after  their  election  the  two  "crowds"  begin  defi 
nitely  to  be  made  up.  There  are  always  some  "sure 
men"  to  form  a  nucleus, — the  Spoon  Man  for  instance, 
is  always  certain  of  receiving  a  Bones  election, — and 
about  these  the  "likely"  ones  who  are  not  quite  so 
"  sure"  try  to  "pack"  themselves.  Thus  a  "crowd"  is 
made  up  in  the  interest  of  each  society.  Its  members 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  177 

"  run"  together  constantly,  call  one  another  by  their  first 
names,  and  make  a  great  display  of  familiarity, — espe 
cially  in  the  presence  of  "  their"  Seniors, — as  much  as 
to  say,  "We  can't  be  separated.  Take  all  of  us  or 
none."  This  sort  of  thing  is  practised  chiefly  by  pros 
pective  Keys  men,  who  can  make  up  their  crowd  with  a 
tolerable  certainty  that  their  evident  wishes  will  be  re 
spected  by  the  society.  It  is  seldom  that  Keys  ventures 
to  keep  out  more  than  a  single  man  from  a  well  defined 
pack,  and  substitute  one  of  their  own  choosing  in  his 
place.  Such  a  pack  really  has  the  power  in  its  own 
hands,  and  should  the  members  of  it  agree  to  "  stand  by- 
one  another"  they  could  of  course  carry  their  point ; 
but  the  refusal  of  a. senior-society  election,  even  condi 
tionally,  seems  so  terrible  a  thing,  that  they  have  rarely 
the  courage  to  make  a  direct  demand.  Keys,  however, 
has  in  some  instances  been  obliged  to  submit  to  such 
dictation.  The  society  undoubtedly  winks  at  "  packing," 
and  indirectly  gives  it  on  occasions  its  official  aid, — 
though  not  as  frequently  nor  as  extensively  as  is  some 
times  reported.  There  are  so  many  conflicting  elements 
in  the  Bones  crowd  that  it  is  never  organized  into  a  reg 
ular  pack,  and  there  is  always  more  doubt  as  to  the 
way  its  elections  will  turn.  The  nearest  approach  to  a 
pack  is  when  two  or  three  "  sure  men  "  take  it  upon 
themselves  to  persistently  "run"  another,  and  make  such 
a  display  of  their  fondness  for  him  as  to  secure  his  elec. 
tion  also.  However  Bones  may  allow  its  action  to  be 
affected  indirectly,  it  will  not  be  dictated  to  when  once 
its  elections  have  been  made  up,  and  it  is  useless  for  a 
man  to  attempt  to  alter  the  result  by  conditionally  refus 
ing  his  election,  in  favor  of  or  against  some  particular 
classmate.  Though  the  Bones  crowd  may  be  pretty 
accurately  guessed  at  for  some  days  before  the  elections 
are  issued,  it  is  the  chances  of  its  individuals  which  are 
9* 


178  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

estimated,  not  of  the  crowd  as  such,  as  in  the  case  of 
Keys.  There  is  no  such  general  collusion  of  all  the 
members  of  the  Bones  crowd  ;  it  is  rather  made  up  of 
separate  cliques  of  twos  and  threes,  and  single  individ 
uals,  who  hope  for  Bones  elections,  but  have  not  much 
else  in  common.  The  fact  that  elections  to  this  latter 
society  have  been  refused  in  favor  of  Keys  is  hence  not 
very  difficult  of  explanation.  A  man  whose  chances 
for  Bones  are  rather  doubtful  may  be  willing  to  throw 
them  away  altogether  for  the  sake  of  the  comparatively 
"  sure  thing"  which  he  gains  by  joining  a  pack  for  Keys. 
So,  receiving  an  election  to  Bones,  he  is  in  honor  bound 
to  decline  it,  and  cling  to  the  men  with  whom  he  had 
joined  his  fortunes.  It  will  be  found  that  all  the  Bones 
refusals  in  '67  and  '70,  over  which  so  much  ado  was 
made,  came  in  every  case  from  men  previously  packed 
for  Keys.  Thus,  Bones'  greater  independence  and 
ceremoniousness  sometimes  work  to  its  own  disadvan 
tage.  A  man  may  go  to  Keys  for  the  sake  of  taking  a 
friend  or  two  with  him  whose  companionship  he  could 
not  be  sure  of  were  he  to  become  a  Bones  men  ;  and  in 
general  one  has  less  uncertainty  as  to  whom  he  will  have 
to  fraternize  with  when  he  packs  for  the  former  society. 
In  a  direct  comparison  of  the  societies,  it  is  seen  that 
Bones  in  reputation,  influence  and  prestige  is  altogether 
superior  to  its  rival ;  and  it  seems  almost  as  certain  that 
it  must  always  retain  this  preeminence.  It  is,  in  its 
main  features,  essentially  unique.  No  other  college 
society  can  show  so  large  a  proportion  of  distinguished 
and  successful  members.  It  is  probably  not  too  much 
to  add  that  of  the  Yale  graduates  of  the  past  genera 
tion  who  have  attained  a  fair  degree  of  worldly  emin 
ence,  nearly  half  will  be  found  to  have  been  included 
within  the  mystic  fifteens  of  this  organization.  Its 
apparent  aim  is  to  secure  at  once  the  best  of  the  good 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  1 79 

scholars,  good  literary  men,  and  good  fellows ;  the 
former  to  bring  it  dignity  and  "  tone,"  the  latter  to  pre 
serve  its  social  and  convivial  character ;  and  its  success 
in  equalizing  these  three  elements — one  of  which  is  apt 
to  predominate  in  a  society — has  been  remarkable.  It 
develops  in  its  members,  too,  a  genuine  pride  and  af 
fection,  such  as  they  feel  in  or  towards  no  other  society. 
Men  who  are  careless  and  frivolous  and  selfish  as  to 
everything  else,  manifest  an  earnestness  and  a  generosity 
where  Bones  is  concerned,  that  is  really  surprising.  And 
this,  too,  in  a  way  not  calculated  to  attract  attention, 
nor  suggest  an  appearance  of  exaggeration  or  make- 
believe.  Keys  men,  on  the  other  hand,  are  rather  given 
to  displaying  their  society  zeal  as  much  as  possible. 
Old  members  who  come  from  abroad  to  attend  the 
"  bums  "  are  apt  to  make  their  presence  generally 
known,  and  take  pains  to  exhibit  the  extent  of  their 
"interest."  Their  affection  for  the  society  is  no  doubt 
genuine  enough,  but  their  carefulness  in  displaying  it 
suggests  the  idea  that  its  inspiration  comes  quite  as 
much  from  an  oppressive  self-consciousness  of  the  need 
of  "going  one  better"  than  Bones,  as  from  the  simple 
force  of  pleasant  associations.  Since  the  time,  say 
about  1860,  when  Keys  came  to  be  recognized  as  a 
reputable  society,  settled  upon  an  invariable  membership 
of  fifteen,  and  ceased  to  give  out  any  class,  secret,  or 
honorary  elections,  its  policy  has  seemed  to  be  the 
making  prominent  of  the  social  element,  the  choosing 
of  good,  jolly  fellowsj — men  of  ability  if  possible,  but 
at  all  events  congenial  and  in  the  college  sense  of  the 
word  gentlemanly.  Ability  in  the  absolute,  that  is  to 
say,  has  been  accounted  of  secondary  importance  as  a 
qualification  for  membership.  Upon  a  strict  and  more 
rigorous  adherence  to  this  policy  in  the  future— if  it 
be  worth  while  to  express  a  prevalent  college  opinion — 


I  So  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  success  of  the  society  will  in  great  measure  depend. 
In  the  latter's  own  chosen  field,  it  can  never  hope  to 
seriously  rival  Bones.  To  the  "  solid,"  thoughtful  men 
of  the  class — the  big  scholars  and  writers — Bones  will 
always  be  the  more  attractive,  and  if  Keys  enters  into 
competition  for  them  it  will  as  inevitably  have  to  take 
up  with  second-rate  representatives  of  the  "  heavy/' 
"  respectable  "  element,  at  the  same  time  that,  by  this 
very  action,  it  renders  itself  less  alluring  to  the  "  popu 
lar  men,"  who  are  and  should  be  its  "best  hold."  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  has  the  tact  to  depart  for  once 
from  its  Bones  model,  and  set  up  an  independent 
standard  of  qualifications  of  its  own,  it  may  in  time 
gain  in  its  own  particular  field  a  recognized  preeminence. 
Keys'  real  "  mission,"  as  it  seems  to  an  outsider,  is  to 
draw  together  a  genial,  gentlemanly  crowd,  rather  than 
an  "  able  "  one.  If  a  pleasant,  agreeable  fellow  chances 
to  be  possessed  of  something  more  substantial  than 
popularity, — if  besides  being  a  gentleman,  he  be  also  a 
scholar,  a  writer,  an  energetic  worker,  —  he  should  of 
course  be  all  the  more  desirable  ;  yet  the  first  mentioned, 
more  trivial,  qualities  should  be  regarded  as  the  essential 
ones,  after  all,  which  recommend  him  for  election. 
Ability,  real  or  reputed,  should  never  of  itself  elect  a 
man  to  Keys.  The  prestige  the  society  may  gain  by 
taking  a  man  simply  for  his  reputation  cannot  make  up 
for  what  it  thereby  loses  in  attractiveness  for  "popular 
men."  Keys'  great  opportunity  is,  by  excluding  all 
others,  to  make  itself  the  most  desirable  society  for  the 
agreeable,  jolly  fellows  in  every  senior  class.  If  it 
resolutely  adopts  this  "lay,"  it  may,  with  the  help  of  its 
hall,  ere  many  years,  leave  Bones  in  the  lurch,  so  far  as 
"popular  "men  are  concerned  ;  and,  by  occupying  an 
independent  field,  prevent  the  possibility  of  direct  com 
parisons  which  must  always  be  to  its  own  disadvantage. 


THE  SO  CIE  TV  S  YS  TEM.  1 8 1 

This  seems  so  manifest  that  nothing  but  a  foolish  over- 
confidence  in  its  own  strength  can  induce  it  to  engage 
in  a  "  straight  fight "  on  Bones'  own  chosen  field,  where, 
with  all  the  odds  against  it,  it  must  ever  suffer  defeat. 
Bones,  on  the  other  hand,  would  do  well  to  consider 
whether  it  will  be  worth  its  while  much  longer  to  take  in 
men  for  their  popularity  and  agreeableness  simply.  It  is 
just  here  that  it  has  met  with  its  most  humiliating  rebuffs 
hitherto,  and  that  it  is  likely  to  meet  with  worse  ones 
hereafter,  unless  it  changes  its  policy.  Four  of  the 
five  '70  men  who  rejected  Bones  in  favor  of  Keys,  were 
simply  "good  fellows,"  who  would  have  been  somewhat 
out  of  their  element  in  the  crowd  of  the  former  society  ; 
and  the  case  in  the  class  of  '67  was  very  similar.  If 
Bones  should  insist  more  strongly  than  now  upon  ability 
»as  a  prime  essential  in  all  its  members,  and  upon  this 
basis,  modified  by  a  reasonable  regard  for  social  qualities 
and  harmoniousness,  elect  them,  it  would  secure  itself 
almost  absolutely  from  having  an  election  rejected,  as 
well  as  add  to  its  own  lasting  reputation, — even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  one  of  its  cherished  traditions,  which  it  has 
managed  to  perpetuate  thus  far  on  the  whole  with  a 
fair  share  of  success.  Whether  Bones  makes  this  con 
cession  with  good  grace  at  the  outset,  or  waits  to  be 
forced  into  it  by  the  success  of  Keys,  when  the  latter 
shall  turn  all  its  energies  upon  this  one  point,  remains 
to  be  seen.  But  appearances  certainly  point  to  the 
coming,  at  no  distant  day,  of  what  may  be  termed  a 
senior  society  millennium,  when  Bones  and  Keys  shall 
each  occupy  an  undisputed  field  of  its  own,  and  each  be 
recognized  as  in  its  own  sphere  preeminent ;  and  when 
the  only  question  in  a  man's  mind  shall  be,  "  In 
which  field,  on  the  whole,  is  supremacy  the  more  desir 
able  ? "  Then  shall  the  Death's  head  be,  even  more 
certainly  than  now,  the  badge  of  intellectual  superiority 


1 82  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

in  college  repute,  and  the  unfolded  Scroll  be,  even  more 
invariably,  the  emblem  of  gentlemanly  good  fellowship 
and  social  popularity. 

It  was  remarked  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  that 
societies  like  Bones  and  Keys  would  be  possible  only 
at  one  other  college  than  Yale,  and  that  as  a  matter  of 
fact  they  are  peculiar  to  the  latter  institution.  They 
are  not,  however,  without  imitators.  At  Columbia  Col 
lege  is  an  "  Axe  and  Coffin''  ;  at  Michigan  University  an 
"  Owl  and  Padlock" ;  and  at  Wesleyan  University  are 
a  "  Skull  and  Serpent"  and  an  "  Owl  and  Wand."  None 
of  them  are  of  any  importance,  and  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  second,  are  in  every  way  inferior  to  the 
Greek'letter  societies  connected  with  their  respective 
institutions.  There  is  no  special  difficulty  in  imitating 
the  peculiar  names  and  mummeries  of  the  Yale  senior* 
societies,  but  the  gaining  of  a  similar  prestige  and  influ 
ence  is  quite  another  matter.  It  is  the  high  character 
of  their  members,  not  their  names  and  forms  and  cer 
emonies,  which  give  the  Yale  societies  their  fame.  Jt 
was  a  belief  in  the  power  of  these  latter  non-essentials 
that  induced  the  Diggers  to  persist  so  long  in  a  worse 
than  hopeless  fight.  At  Yale,  the  strictly  class  societies 
of  the  first  three  years  supply  the  machinery  by  which 
every  class  is  carefully  sifted  and  its  best  men  are 
"  brought  out"  in  readiness  for  the  senior  societies.  Yet 
even  here,  with  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men  to  pick  from,  and  the  three  years'  sifting 
process  reduced  almost  to  an  exact  science,  it  has  been 
absolutely  demonstrated  that  no  more  than  two  societies, 
of  fifteen  men  each,  can  exist.  Indeed,  it  was  for  a 
long  time  a  problem  whether  more  than  one  could  live, 
and  even  now  the  two,  to  be  at  their  best,  must  occupy 
somewhat  different  fields.  But  at  other  colleges,  where 
no  such  class  system  prevails,  where  the  numbers  to 


TttE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  183 

select  from  are  much  smaller,  where  the  competing  soci 
eties  are  more  numerous,  the  attempt  to  ape  Bones  and 
Keys  can  succeed  in  nothing  save  in  making  the  would- 
be  societies  ridiculous.  In  view  of  their  real  worth,  peo 
ple  may  be  willing  to  overlook  the  silly  practices  of  the 
Yale  senior  societies  ;  but  when  mock  mystery  and 
cheap  ceremonials  are  the  only  things  which  a  society  has 
to  boast  of,  it.  cannot  well  help  falling  into  contempt. 
The  statement  is  therefore  again  repeated  that  Bones 
and  Keys  are  peculiarly  Yale  institutions,  genuine  out 
growths  of  a  system  that  flourishes  nowhere  else,  the 
only  organizations  of  the  kind  existing  in  the  country. 

In  concluding  this  account  of  the  class  societies,  it 
may  be  well  to  add  a  few  additional  facts  that  are  true 
alike  of  many  or  all  of  them,  and  to  compare  directly 
their  general  character  in  the  different  years.  Each 
society,  save  Gamma  Nu,  has  a  "grip"  of  its  own,  but 
society  men,  in  either  of  the  four  years,  do  not  generally 
employ  it  in  greeting  one  another.  It  is  not  a  popular 
device  with  them,  and  comparitively  few  would  be  able, 
a  year  or  two  after  graduation,  to  give  the  four  different 
grips  correctly,  were  they  to  try.  Many  of  the  active 
members,  even,  of  these  societies  cannot  remember  their 
grips  without  an  effort,  and  in  junior  year,  when  visitors 
from  other  chapters  are  expected,  there  is  need  of  some 
preliminary  practice  before  the  guests  can  be  welcomed 
in  true  mysterious  fashion.  At  other  colleges  the  soci 
ety  grips  are  constantly  made  use  of,  and  when  a  Yale 
man  who  has  forgotten  his  grip  meets  an  outside 
brother  he  extends  his  hand  with  all  the  fingers  sepa 
rated  y  and  returns  the  grip  that  he  receives,  in  full  faith 
that  he  has  given  "  the  right  one"  and  concealed  his 
ignorance.  It  is  easy  enough  for  an  outsider  to  find 
out  from  someone  or  other  the  reputed  grips  of  the 
dozen  or  less  societies,  and  it  is  more  than  likely  that 


1 84  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

these  are  really  the  true  ones  in  many  cases.     Bat  the 
whole  matter  is  made  so  little  of  by  Yale  men  that  none 
of  these  peculiar  hand  shakings  are  worth  describing. 
In  the  published  report  of  a  recent  DKE  convention, 
that  society  announced  that  it  had  adopted  a  new  grip 
and  motto, — presumably  on  account  of  the  discovery  of 
its  old  ones,  and  probably  at  the  instance  of  the  outside 
chapters.     Whether  the  changes  were   really  made,  or 
the    announcement   offered    simply   as   a    "blind,"  the 
result  was  of  course   the  same.      The   only  two    Yale 
society  mottoes  that  seem  to  be  unknown  to  outsiders 
are,  oddly  enough,  those  of  Delta  Kap  and  Theta  Psi. 
That  of  the  former  used  to  be,  /Jecpo*;  Knvyiog,  and  was 
as  well  known  as  Sigma  Eps's  is  at  present,  but  the  one 
which  superseded  it  and  is  now  in   vogue  has  been  by 
some  miracle  prevented  from  leaking  out.  Every  junior  so 
ciety  man  can  find  out  without  much  difficulty  the  mottoes 
and  "  secrets"  of  the  other  societies  in  his  class,  but  he 
feels  in  duty  bound  not  to  make  public  his  knowledge, 
and  the  neutrals  are  generally  in   ignorance   of   these 
matters.     At  Yale,  one  society  never  thinks  of  breaking 
into  the  hall  of  another,  and  making  public  all  its  mys 
teries,  as  is  the  practice  at  some  of  the  smaller  colleges. 
It  is  through  these  that  some  of  the  Yale  junior-society 
secrets  are  divulged.      Chapters  which   think  it   a  fine 
thing  to  steal  the    constitution   and    documents  of   as 
many  rival  societies  as  possible,   when  they  chance  to 
gain  those  of  societies  which  are  also  rivals  at  Yale,  may 
forward  to  their  brothers  at  the  latter  place  their  ill-gotten 
knowledge  :  knowledge  which  the  latter  are  usually  hon 
orable  enough  to  keep  to  themselves.     It  is  only  in  the 
songs  of  the  first  two  years  that  the  societies  mention 
the  names  of  their  rivals, — to  ridicule  them,  of  course, 
but  in  a  good  natured  way.     A  secret  ballot,  upon  each 
candidate  separately,  in  which  a  single  blackball  rejects, 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  SYS  TEAL  1 8  5 

is  the  mode  of  election  in  all  these  societies.     Every 
society  has  a  janitor  whom  it  allows  to  wear  its  badge. 
While  '69  was  in  college  the  same  individual  was  at 
once  janitor  of  Delta  Kap,  Theta  Psi  and  Psi  U,  and 
wore  either  one  of  the  badges  indifferently,  though  never 
displaying  two  at  a  time.     A  senior-society  janitor  is  not 
allowed    to  serve  for  under-class   organizations.      The 
present  Bones  janitor  is  a  negro  named  Robert,  who 
assists  the  professors  in  the  experiments  at  the  philosoph 
ical  lectures,  and  is  a  sort  of  college  supernumerary. 
His  predecessor,  also  a  black  man,  died  in  the  service, 
and  was  followed  to  his  grave  by  the  whole  Bones  soci 
ety,  resident  graduates,  solemn  professors,  and  all.     The 
societies  of  the  two  upper  years  have  boxes  at  the  post 
office  wherein  is  placed  all  mail  matter  directed  either 
to  their  popular  or  official,  trust-association,  titles.     A 
letter  directed  to  either  of  the  lower-class  societies  is 
exposed  to  view  beside  the  general-delivery  window,  until 
discovered  and  called  for  by  one  of  the  members.    Soci 
ety  men  as  a  rule  preserve  all  their  badges, — sometimes, 
in  senior  year,  mounting  their  previously  gained  insignia 
in  a  velvet-lined,  ornamental  frame  or  case.     Quite   a 
number  of  freshman   pins   are    disposed   of,    however, 
when  the  time  for  wearing  them  is  past,  and  some  soph 
omore  and  a  very  few  junior  badges  go  the  same  way, 
but  a  senior-society  pin  is  kept  by  its  owner  until  death 
doth  them  part.     By  other  college  men  their  junior-soci 
ety  badge,  usually  the  only  one  they  ever  possess,  is  as 
a  rule  always  preserved,  and  is  in   many  cases  steadily 
worn  for  some  years  after  graduation.     Yale  men,  who 
were    senior   neutrals,   sometimes   display   their  junior 
badge,  on  special  occasions,  after  graduation,  but  never 
the  pin  of  a  lower  society.      When  a  Freshman  leaves 
college  he  usually  takes  off  his  society  pin,  but  a  Soph 
omore,  if  a  society  man,  is  likely  to  wear  his  badge  for 
some  time  after  his  withdrawal. 


1 86  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE, 

In  taking  a  general  look  at  the  societies  of  the  four 
years,  the  first  seems  a  working  ground  where  Fresh 
men  may  display  their  abilities,  and  induce  the  Juniors 
to  pledge  them  ;  the  second,  a  place  where  these  pledged 
men  as  Sophomores  may  be   kept  quiet  until   they  are 
further  inspected,  and  the   poor  ones  got   rid  off ;    the 
third,    another    working    ground    of    narrower    limits, 
where  the  select  Juniors  who  have  passed  safely  through 
two  sifting  processes  may,  by  making  the  most  of  their 
talents  before  the  Seniors,  prevail  upon   the  latter  to 
spare  them  in  the  last  grand  turn  of  the  sieve,  and  elect 
them   into  the  fourth,  beyond  which  there   is   nothing 
higher.     It  is  a  fault  of  the  system  that  each  societv  save 
the  last  is  only  a  stepping  stone  to  the  next,  and  when 
the  last  is  reached  the  time  left  to  enjoy  it  in  is  short 
indeed.     The  size  of  the  classes,  and  the  class  feeling 
thereby  engendered,  makes  any  other  system  impossible, 
while  the  system  in  turn  tends  to  strengthen  and  perpet 
rate    the   class  feeling.     From  his  freshman  society,  a 
man  usually  gains  considerable  solid  advantage,  and  a 
fair  amount  of  pleasure.     The  direct  benefit  of  a  soph 
omore-society  experience  is  not  very  great,  and   a  man 
loses  less  by  being  a  neutral  this  year  than  any  other, — 
sophomore  neutrals  being  often  elected  to  senior  soci 
eties, — but  still,   he    does    lose    something,  both    in    a 
peculiar  sort  of  "  fun,"  and  in  general  social  position. 
In  a  third-year  society  the  advantages  are   many,  and 
are  of  a  general  as  well  as  local  character.     The  occa 
sions  thus  afforded  for  members  of  different  colleges  to 
fraternize  together,  the  opportunities  given  for  making 
pleasant  acquaintances   at  unexpected  places,  are   evi 
dently  of  considerable  value.     A  man's  interest  in  his 
junior  society  is  not  as  intense  or  as  lasting  at  Yale  as 
at  other  colleges,  yet  it  is   altogether  greater  than  that 
which  he  feels    toward   anv  lower-class   societv.      One 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  1 8 7 

Yale  graduate  would  not  be  apt  to  claim  introduction  to 
another  on  the  score  of  belonging  to  the  same  junior 
society,  yet,  once  acquainted  for  some  other  reason,  this 
fact  would  form  a  sort  of  bond  between  them.  The 
attempt  to  make  an  outsider  realize  the  overwhelming 
fascination,  which  a  senior  society  exerts  upon  the  mind 
of  the  average  Yale  undergraduate,  would  probably  be 
useless.  An  election  thereto  is  valued  more  highly 
than  any  other  college  prize  or  honor ;  and  in  fact  these 
honors  derive  a  good  part  of  their  attractiveness  from 
their  supposed  efficacy  in  helping  to  procure  the  coveted 
election.  There  is  nothing  in  the  wide  world  that  seems 
to  him  half  so  desirable.  It  is  the  one  thing  needful 
for  his  perfect  happiness.  And  if  he  fails  in  gaining  it, 
the  chances  are  that  he  becomes  a  temporary  misanthro 
pist,  that  is  to  say,  an  ardent  "  Stones  man."  Though 
the  advantages  of  membership  are  no  doubt  exaggerated 
in  anticipation,  the  real  benefit  gained  in  belonging  to  a 
senior  society  is  certainly  considerable, — far  more  valua 
ble,  in  fact,  than  that  which  accrues  from  membership 
in  any  other.  Quite  aside  from  the  enjoyment  of  the 
senior  year  itself,  the  facts  that  in  after  life  a  man  is 
thus  introduced  to  the  best  graduates  of  the  college, 
wherever  he  may  meet  them,  and  that,  whenever  he 
visits  New  Haven,  he  is  sure  of  being  entertained  by 
the  best  of  the  oldest  undergraduates,  and  instructed  as 
to  the  doings  and  whereabouts  of  the  best  of  his  for 
mer  classmates, — these  facts,  other  things  being  equal, 
of  themselves  make  membership  in  a  senior  society 
especially  desirable. 

College  friendships  do  not  at  Yale  run  very  closely 
in  society  lines.  A  pair  of  friends  may  DC  brought  to 
gether  or  separated  by  almost  numberless  society  com 
binations.  They  may  belong  to  the  same  society  in 
each  of  the  four  years,  or  in  the  first  and  last,  or  in  the 


188  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

second  and  third,  or  in  none  at  all,  or  one  may  be  a  so 
ciety  man  and  another  a  neutral  for  all  the  course,  and 
so  on  through  all  the  possible  permutations.     Still,  it  is 
pleasant  for  friends  to  keep  in  the  same  societies,  and 
a  general  tendency  of  certain  crowds    to  go  together, 
year  after  year,  has  been  already  remarked  upon.     No 
neutral  as  such  is   looked  down  upon  or  avoided  by  so 
ciety  men.     If  the   latter  usually  "  run"  together,  it   is 
because  of  similar  tastes  and  proclivities,  which  would 
induce  them  to  do   so,  were   no  societies  in   existence. 
In  senior  year  there  is  hardly  a  society  man  without  one 
or  two  special  friends  who  are  neutrals,  and  with  whom 
he  has  quite  as  much  to  do  as  with  his  own  regular  as 
sociates.     Such  pairs   oftener    chum  together  than  do 
two  from  rival  societies  ;  though  this  sometimes  happens, 
and  previous  to  senior  year  is  not  at   all  uncommon. 
Aside  from  a  man's  real  or  reputed  ability,  good  nature, 
and  popularity,  a  thing  which  often  helps  to  elect  him 
is  his  relationship  to  a  former  or  active  member  of  the 
society.     If  a  father  or  an   uncle  or  a  brother  has  pre- 
ceeded  him,  the  fact  helps  him  to  follow  in  their  foot 
steps,  especially  if  they  were  in  any  way  famous.     An 
older  brother  in  the  class  above,  or  even  one  or  two 
classes  removed,  is  almost  certain  to  secure  the  election 
of  a  younger  one,  unless  the  latter  is  peculiarly  unqual 
ified  or  obnoxious.     This  species  of  favoritism  attracts 
the   most  attention  in   the  case  of  the  senior  societies, 
into  which  nearly  every  year,  by  his  relationship  with  an 
older  and  worthier  member,  is  dragged  one  man  at  least 
who  is  without  other  qualifications  sufficient  to  recom 
mend  him.     The  cases  of  poor  men  taken  in  are,  by  the 
bye,  a  good   deal   more   common  and   noticeable   than 
those   of  desirable  men   left  out.     Every  year  almost 
there  is  a  great  show  of  indignation  over  the  injustice 
in  the   senior-society  elections  which  bring  several  big 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  189 

men  to  grief,  yet  it  rarely  happens  that  the  good  policy 
of  the  society  in  leaving  them  out  is  not  vindicated 
within  a  twelve  month.  When  fifteen  men  are  to  be 
shut  up  together  for  six  successive  hours,  every  week, 
and  be  thrown  in  with  each  other  constantly,  it  is  essen 
tial  that  they  should  be  reasonably  harmonious  if  not 
congenial ;  and  an  organization  whose  members  should 
be  chosen  for  their  reputation  and  ability  simply,  could 
not  be  in  the  right  sense  of  the  word  a  society. 

Without  now  discussing  whether  college  opinion  al 
ways  awards  men  the  positions  they  deserve,  it  may  be 
said,  in  conclusion,  that  the  society  system,  viewed  as  a 
means  for  separating  those  who,  for  whatever  reason, 
are  high  in  college  esteem,  from  those  who,  for  what 
ever  reason,  are  not,  must  be  admitted  to  be  in  the  main 
a,fair  and  successful  one.  No  one  can  reasonably  deny 
that  it  has  this  effect,  and  that  the  society  men  of  every 
year  are  as  a  class  superior  in  college  repute  to  the 
neutrals.  It  would  of  course  be  foolish  to  judge  an  in 
dividual  solely  by  his  society  connections,  but  it  would 
be  far  less  foolish  than  to  judge  him  solely  by  the  num 
ber  of  prizes,  or  scholorships,  or  honors  he  could  lay 
claim  to,  as  is  not  infrequently  the  practice.  To  set 
up  any  one  arbitrary  standard  whereby  to  judge  charac 
ter  is  manifestly  unfair,  yet,  if  it  is  to  be  done,  there  is 
no  single  test  which  embraces  so  many,  in  making  an 
estimate  of  a  Yale  man's  importance,  as  his  share  in 
the  society  system.  Blockheads  and  simpletons  cer 
tainly  find  their  way  into  the  senior  societies,  yet  there 
are  few  generalities  of  the  sort  deserving  of  more  con 
fidence  than  these,  that  in  a  Bones  man  you  will  find 
ability  and  force  of  character,  in  a  Keys  man  politeness 
and  geniality,  and  in  both  the  most  favorable  samples 
of  the  Yule  graduate  of  the  period. 


CHAPTER   V. 
SOCIETY     INSTITUTIONS. 

Linonia,  and  Brothers  in  Unity — Their  Origin  and  Early  History — 
Rivalry  in  Gaining  Members — The  Statement  of  Facts — The 
Campaign,  a  Dozen  Years  Ago — The  Rush — Latest  Modes  of 
Distributing  the  Freshmen — Initiation — Meetings  and  Exercises 
— Exhibitions — Officers,  Politics,  and  the  Campaign  Election — 
Attendance — Management  of  the  Finances — The  Society  Halls 
— Catalogues — Libraries — Reading  Room — The  College  Book 
store — The  Prize  Debates — Annual  and  Centennial  Celebrations 
— Analysis  of  the  Society  Tax — Calliope  and  Phrenix — Phi  Beta 
Kappa  —  Its  Origin  and  Peculiar  Organization  —  Names  of  the 
Chapters — Meetings  and  Exercises — Orations  and  Poems — Qual 
ifications  for  Membership  —  An  Invasion  of  Barbarians  —  The 
Society  Badge  Key — Initiation  — The  Annual  Business  Meeting 
—Catalogues— Significance  of  the  Fraternity— Chi  Delta  Theta 
— Its  Literary  Character — The  Present  Wearers  of  its  Badge. 

Some  of  the  societies  which  were  the  precursors  of 
the  modern  system  still  have  a  sort  of  semi-animate 
existence  in  the  college,  in  the  form  of  mere  "  institu 
tions,"  and  they,  and  the  customs  springing  from  them, 
are  therefore  all  described  here  under  that  general  title. 
The  first,  both  in  age,  reputation  and  importance  are 
the  societies  of  "Linonia"  and  "Brothers  in  Unity." 
Except  where  great  formality  is  required,  the  latter  title 
is  always  abbreviated  to  "  Brothers  "  ;  and  each  mem 
ber  of  the  society  was  called  a  "  Brother."  Each  mem 
ber  of  the  "  Linonian  Society,"  as  the  favorite  cere 
monious  name  for  it  used  to  be,  was  termed  a  "  Lino 
nian."  These  titles  are  rarely  used  of  late,  and  a  man 
is  simply  said  to  "  belong  to  "  Linonia  or  Brothers,  as 
the  case  may  be.  Both  are  spoken  of  indifferently  as 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S YSTEM.  1 9  x 

the  literary,  the  large,  the  open,  the  general,  or  the 
college  societies, — the  comparative  frequency  of  the 
names  perhaps  being  in  the  order  given.  Linonia  was 
founded  September  12,  1753.  Of  the  class  which  grad 
uated  that  year,  numbering  17  in  all,  one  only  belonged 
to  the  society.  He  was  the  seventeenth  on  the  list — the 
names  at  that  time  being  arranged  .according  to  the 
"  gentility  "  of  the  families  they  represented,  instead  of 
alphabetically — and  his  name  was  William  Wickham. 
Besides  this,  little  more  is  known  concerning  him,  save 
that  he  afterwards  took  his  Master's  degree,  lived  on 
Long  Island,  and  died  in  1813.  According  to  repute, 
he  was  the  founder  of  the  society,  and  its  first  chan 
cellor,, — that  being  the  name  applied  to  the  president  up 
to  the  year  1789.  In  the  first  15  classes  (1753-67), 
Linonia  had  150  of  the  400  men  who  graduated,  or 
an  average  of  10  to  a  class, — the  highest  number  being 
16,  and  the  lowest,  after  the  first  class,  4.  Of  the  250 
not  included  in  its  catalogue,  it  is  likely  that  a  large 
portion  were  members  of  "  Crotonia,"  a  rival  society 
which  had  been  for  some  time  in  existence  when 
Linonia  was  founded,  but  which  must  have  died  out 
within  15  years  thereafter. 

Brothers  was  founded  in  1768,  by  21  individuals  in 
the  four  classes  '68,  '69,  '70,  and  '71, — seven  being 
upper-class  men  who  seceded  from  Linonia,  and 
the  remaining  14  being  Freshmen,  who  were  of  course 
neutrals,  as  in  those  clays  of  servitude  no  Freshmen 
were  ever  admitted  to  any  society  whatever.  Oliver 
Stanley  of  '68,  the  first  president  of  Brothers,  was  said 
by  tradition  to  have  been  the  founder  of  the  society, 
and  was  so  mentioned  in  the  eulogy  pronounced  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1813.  But  the  popular  hero  of  the 
affair  was  David  Humphreys  of  '71,  "who  stood  up 
for  the  dignity  of  his  class  ;  and  having  found  two 


I92  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Seniors,  three  Juniors  and  two  Sophomores,  who  were 
willing  that  Freshmen  might  be  admitted  to  a  literary 
society,  he,  with  thirteen  of  his  classmates  fought  for 
and  established  their  own  respectability."  He  was 
afterwards  a  colonel  in  the  Revolution,  served  as  aid- 
de-camp  and  secretary  to  Washington,  fought  bravely  at 
Yorktown,  presented  to  Congress  the  British  colors  sur 
rendered  by  Cornwallis,  and  was  awarded  "an  elegant 
sword  "  by  direct  vote  of  that  body.  He  was  dubbed 
LL.D.  by  both  Brown  and  Dartmouth,  was  Fellow  of 
the  Royal  Society,  and  ambassador  to  Spain.  He  died 
in  1818.  Of  the  19  who  graduated  in  his  class,  15 
were  Brothers  and  4  were  Linonians.  In  the  class  of 
'75  the  corresponding  figures  were  3  and  33.  And  so 
it  changed  about,  one  society  being  specially  success 
ful  in  some  years,  the  other  in  others  ;  but  the  disparity 
was  not  usually  as  great  as  in  the  cases  indicated,  and 
in  most  years  the  classes  were  about  equally  divided. 
Hence,  in  the  33  classes,  1768  to  1800,  Linonia  claimed 
560  and  Brothers  569  men,  all  of  whom  were  said  to  be 
graduates;  but  as  only  mo  men  graduated  from  col 
lege  in  the  interval,  and  some  few  of  these  in  the  earlier 
classes  remained  neutrals,  several  of  the  non-graduates 
must  have  remained  upon  the  lists.  It  may  be  noted 
that  the  class  ('68)  which  founded  Brothers  was  the  first 
whose  names  in  the  college  catalogue  were  arranged 
alphabetically. 

The  exclusion  of  Freshmen  from  Linonia  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  attempt  ever  made  at  select- 
ness  in  membership, —  all  who  applied  for  admis 
sion  in  sophomore  year  or  afterwards  having  been, 
apparently,  welcomed  to  the  fold.  As  soon  as  Brothers 
had  established  the  precedent,  of  course  Linonia  was 
obliged  to  elect  Freshmen  also,  and  the  two  societies 
soon  settled  down  into  an  annual  strife  to  decide  which 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  193 

should  gain  the  largest  number  of  each  incoming  class. 
As  the  average  number  obtained  by  each  was  about 
equal,  in  1801  it  was  agreed  that  all  new  comers  should 
be  allotted  in  alphabetical  order  to  the  two  societies, — 
the  first  man  on  the  list  going  to  Linonia,  the  second 
to  Brothers,  the  third  to  Linonia,  the  fourth  to  Brothers, 
and  so  on  to  "Z,"  or  the  end  of  the  class.     It  happened 
that  John  C.  Calhoun  of  '04  was  allotted  to  Linonia,  but 
refused  to  join  that  society,  as  most  of  the  Southerners 
went  to  Brothers  ;  and  hence  both  societies  have  claimed 
him  as  a  member  until  this  day.     Doubtless  an  arrange 
ment  was  effected  whereby  two  men  allotted  to  different 
societies  could  exchange  places,  if  they  cared  to,  but 
the   system   of  alphabetical    distribution   remained   in 
vogue  until  the  year  1830.     Then,  open  war  was  once 
more  declared,  and  each  society  again  began  to  plead 
its  cause   before   each   freshman   class.      The   custom 
known  as  "  Statement  of  Facts  "  was  now  introduced. 
In  theory,  and  perhaps  originally  in  reality,  the  plan 
was  as  follows :  On  the  first  or  second  Wednesday  of 
the  college  year,  the  entire  freshman  class  was  invited 
to  a  public  hall,  and  there  addressed  by  the  president, 
senior  orator,  and  junior  orator  of  each  society,  on  the 
relative  merits  and  advantages  of  the  two  organizations  ; 
and  at  the  close  of  the  speeches,  each  freshman  was 
called  upon  to  indicate  the  society  of  his  choice.     Such 
was  the  theory,  which,  if  ever  practised  in  all  its  sim 
plicity,  was  not  long  in  becoming  a  mere  farce,  owing 
to   the    campaign   meetings,    and   electioneerings,   and 
pledgtngs,    which   preceded   the    Statement   of    Facts. 
The  mode  in  which  the  freshman  societies  now  gain 
their   members  is  the  same  as  that  formerly  used  for 
recruiting  Linonia  and  Brothers.     The  lesser  campaign 
has  simply  superseded  the  greater,  and  the  description 
already  given  of  it  will  in  most  points  apply  well  enough 

10 


194  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

to  the  latter  ;  but  it  may  be  well  to  quote  from  an 
account  written  in  1859  of  the  way  in  which  the  large 
societies  were  accustomed  to  manage  affairs : 

"The  campaign  of  warfare  commences  with  the  fourth 
week  of  the  summer  term,  when  the  campaign  presidents 
are  chosen  for  the  new  senior  class,  and  the  new 
sophomore  class — which  is  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
battle — is  marshalled  for  the  fight.  The  officers,  on 
whom  falls  the  personal  responsibility  of  victory  or 
defeat,  remind  them,  with  serious  earnestness,  of  the 
great  responsibility  which  has  fallen  on  their  shoulders  ; 
they  tell  them  that  they  are  carrying  into  the  contest 
the  banner  that  has  long  waved  in  victory  over  their 
old  fraternity  ;  that  thousands  are  waiting  anxiously  to 
see  if  its  folds,  as  of  yore,  are  still  to  wave  in  honor  and 
glory,  or  whether  they  are  to  droop  in  ignominy  and 
shame  before  the  foe  who  have  so  often  cowered  before 
them !  But  they  by  no  means  trust  merely  to  nicely 
worded  speeches.  The  class  is  thoroughly  organized 
for  the  battle.  The  labor  is  divided  and  sub-divided  as 
far  as  the  interests  of  the  campaign  demands.  General 
committees,  and  special  committees  of  correspondence, 
are  appointed  to  find  out  by  every  means  in  their 
power  who  are  coming  into  the  next  freshman  class  and 
whence.  To  the  larger  academies,  and  usual  tributaries 
of  the  college,  special  electioneerers  are  sent,  and  skir 
mishes  are  fought  long  before  the  main  battle  begins  in 
New  Haven.  Meantime,  the  weekly  meetings  are  the 
occasions  of  enthusiastic  speeches,  the  subjects  of  which 
are  the  history  and  glory  of  one  society,  and  the  faults 
imaginary  or  real  of  the  other.  As  the  battle  thickens, 
the  cohorts  increase  in  activity  and  enthusiasm.  The 
committees  for  the  Tontine  Hotel  and  the  New  Haven 
House  scan  closely  the  journal  of  names,  and  follow  to 
his  room  every  suspicious-looking  youth.  The  steam- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  195 

boat  committee  are  on  duty  at  five  in  the  morning  and 
at  eight  at  night.  The  depot  committee  grow  hardened 
to  their  work,  lay  aside  all  gentlemanly  feeling,  and 
pounce  upon  the  unwary.  The  railroad  committees  ride 
from  New  Haven  to  Springfield,  to  Guilford,  to  Bridge 
port,  and  New  York.  They  endeavor  to  make  them 
selves  agreeable  to  any  fellow  travelers,  provided  they 
be  young,  and  look  haggard,  in  view  of  some  specter 
like  an  approaching  examination.  The  room  committee 
report  the  items  of  knowledge  that  they  have  culled  in 
a  careful  survey  of  every  tree  and  dilapidated  building 
around  the  college,  to  headquarters,  to  be  put  in  imme 
diate  requisition,  should  any  Freshman  desire  a  night's 
abode.  With  such  an  array  of  preparation  on  both 
sides,  the  harmless  Freshman  runs  a  poor  chance  of 
escaping  the  fiery  ordeal.  Many  come  pledged  to  join 
one  or  the  other  society,  and  over  them  there  is  of 
course  no  struggle.  Others  fall  into  the  hands  of  one 
party  only,  and  any  access  to  them  is  denied  the  other 
until  they  shall  have  decided.  But  to  those  whose 
destiny  throws  them  into  a  crowd  of  contending  Sopho 
mores,  in  the  dark  and  smoky  cavern,  called  the  New 
Haven  depot,  especially  if  the  least  sign  of  indecision 
or  perplexity  is  perceptible,  there  is  no  longer  hope  of 
rest  or  quiet  or  comfort ;  not  even  liberty  and  the  pur 
suit  of  happiness  being  allowed  them  until  they  decide 
the  momentous  question. 

"  During  the  days  of  examination  for  admission  to 
college,  and  a  few  days  previous,  the  societies  put  forth 
their  utmost  energies,  and  instead  of  meetings  once  a 
week  they  are  held  two  and  three  times  a  day.  For 
every  Freshman  that  enters  the  hall,  speeches  must  be 
made,  to  recount  the  incomparable  history,  the  superior 
prize-lists,  the  immense  advantages  of  this  society  over 
its  rival.  The  work  of  the  officers  and  of  the  various 


I96  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

committees  is  at  this  time  exceedingly  laborious,  and 
would  never  be  undertaken  were  it  not  for  the  personal 
honor  attending  it ;  and  would  never  be  completed  were 
it  not  for  the  enthusiasm  which  the  contest  always 
inspires.  The  enthusiasm  is  undoubtedly  real,  and 
although  the  fight  is  renewed  from  year  to  year,  the 
same  notes  rung,  the  same  old  story  told,  from  meeting 
to  meeting,  there  is  music  in  these  notes  and  a  strength 
in  that  story  which,  especially  to  a  class  for  the  first 
time  engaging  in  those  scenes,  is  stirring  and  effective. 
The  vociferous  applause  which  is  given  to  the  speeches, 
the  hearty  greeting  with  which  every  new-comer  is  met, 
shows  the  presence  of  unbounded  enthusiasm. 

"  There  are  comparatively  few  who  come  to  college 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  system  of  electioneering. 
Most  are  prepared  for  it.  But  even  then,  if  they  have 
not  decided,  they  cannot  remain  free  from  interruption, 
unless  at  all  hours  they  lock  their  doors  and  demand 
freedom.  Some,  however,  arrive  at  New  Haven  before 
they  know  even  of  the  existence  of  such  societies. 
Their  ignorance  affords  opportunities  for  successful  mis 
representations  and  cunning  duplicity,  of  which  many 
take  advantage.  The  temptation,  coming  together  with 
the  excitement  of  the  campaign  is  greatly  increased. 
The  contest  is  generally  decided  before  the  second  week 
of  the  fall  term.  At  the  close  of  the  first  week,  when 
there  is  scarcely  one  who  has  not  already  joined  one  or 
the  other  society,  is  repeated  the  annual  farce  of  what 
was  once  a  Statement  of  Facts  in  behalf  of  each 
society,  by  appointed  orators.  It  is  now  rather  a  field 
for  the  display  of  empty  eloquence  and  skill  at  repartee. 
Any  distortion  of  facts  which  seems  to  confound  their 
opponents,  or  to  turn  the  laugh  upon  them  is  considered 
as  the  most  acceptable  part  of  the  proceeding.  The 
Freshmen,  for  whose  enlightenment  the  exercises  are 


THE  SOCIE TY  S } 'STEM.  1 9 7 

specially  intended,  attend  in  mass.  A  general  struggle 
with  the  Sophomores — whose  duty,  now  that  electioneer 
ing  is  no  longer  necessary,  tradition  says,  is  to 
prevent  the  Freshmen  getting  into  the  hall  without  first 
taking  off  their  hats — is  the  first  thing  on  the  programme. 
They  then  take  the  seats  that  are  reserved  for  them, 
with  fragments  of  their  hats  in  their  hands,  and  of  their 
coats  on  their  backs,  amid  a  yelling,  screeching  and 
cheering  which  is  perfectly  indescribable.  After  their 
indignation  against  the  Sophomores  has  cooled  down, 
they  begin  to  applaud  almost  continually  their  own  and 
hiss  the  orators  of  the  rival  society.  At  the  close  of 
the  meeting,  the  students  adjourn  to  the  halls  of  their 
respective  societies,  where  the  result  of  the  campaign  is 
officially  proclaimed.  One  society  celebrates  a  jubilee  : 
the  other  waits  for  a  'better  time  coming.' " 

Brewster's  Hall  was  the  usual  place  of  holding  the 
"  Statement,"  but  Union  Hall  served  instead  on  at  least 
one  occasion,  and  in  1861,,  the  last  time  any  such  meet 
ing  was  held,  the  faculty  granted  the  use  of  Alumni 
Hall.  The  "  rush "  attendant  upon  this  celebration 
seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  in  some  sense  a  sub 
stitute  for  the  old  Foot-Ball  Game,  and  both  seem  to 
have  degenerated  into  the  common  street  rushes  of  to 
day.  The  meeting  of  j86o  was  thus  described:  "It 
began  of  course  with  the  usual  abominable  '  rush.' 
Defiant  Sophomores  dared  hopeful  Freshmen  to  'come 
on.'  They  did  so.  They  sopped  each  other  in  the 
gutter,  crunched  each  other's  toes,  and,  when  they  got 
tired,  adjourned  up  stairs  ;  the  Freshmen  to  look  atten 
tive  and  listen  to  the  arguments  offered  by  the  societies, 
the  Sophomores  to  look  depraved  and  throw  beans  at 
nearly  everybody  except  the  speakers.  Seven  o'clock, 
post  meridian,  was  the  hour  for  reassembling.  The 
Sophomores  looked  as  wicked  as  ever,  and  the  Fresh- 


I98  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

men  as  hopeful  as  ever.  Again  the  initiatory  plunge, 
again  the  wallow  in  the  gutter,  again  the  tugging,  strain 
ing,  button-bursting  operations,  and  then  they  all  crowd 
into  seats  and  listen  to  the  remainder  of  the  story  each 
society  is  anxious  to  tell." 

In  1859  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  bring 
both  societies  to  an  agreement,  whereby  all  private 
electioneering  should  be  done  away  with  and  no  Fresh 
man  should  be  pledged  to  either  society,  until  the  close 
of  the  Statement  of  Facts,  when  each  should  signify 
the  one  of  his  choice.  The  campaign  meetings  of  each 
society  were  to  be  held  on  alternate  evenings,  and  the 
society  which  had  the  last  meeting,  was  to  give  up  to 
the  other  the  first  chance  for  speaking  at  the  Statement. 
This  plan  was  adopted  on  the  following  year,  and  per 
haps  in  1861  also;  but  for  the  next  four  years  there 
after  there  was  open  war  again  ;  and  the  only  thing  at 
all  resembling  a  Statement  of  Facts,  was  a  gathering  in 
one  of  the  society  halls,  where  the  two  presidents 
simply  announced  the  official  figures  of  the  campaign, — 
the  result  being  of  course  received  with  tremendous 
cheering  and  enthusiasm  by  the  partisans  of  the  vic 
torious  society.  The  Sophs,  as  of  old,  waited  outside 
to  rush  the  Fresh  who  might  try  to  attend  ;  but  the 
faculty  probably  interfered  with  the  sport,  for  when  '69 
— which  was  the  last  class  electioneered — entered  college 
in  1865,  there  was  no  attempt  at  a  rush,  nor  was  it 
generally  known  among  the  Freshmen  when  the  final 
results  of  that  last  campaign  were  proclaimed. 

For  the  next  two  years,  the  new-comers  were  distrib 
uted  alphabetically  between  the  two  societies,  and 
allowed  to  "pair  off"  in  cases  when  they  had  any  prefer 
ence.  In  1868,  this  plan  was  somewhat  modified  by  the 
introduction  of  a  sort  of  travesty  on  the  old  Statement 
of  Facts.  Eight  orators,  two  from  each  of  the  two 


THE  SO  C1E  TY  S  YSTEM.  1 9  9 

upper  classes  in  each  society,  were  appointed  to  make 
as  ludicrous  speeches  as  possible  in  regard  to  the  "  mer 
its  of  the  societies."  In  the  old  times,  statements 
utterly  without  foundation  in  fact  were  common  enough, 
but  they  were  earnestly  made,  with  the  intention  of  mis 
leading  and  deceiving  the  Freshmen,  and  the  speakers 
did  not  ridicule  their  own  societies.  Now,  the  speeches 
all  take  their  point  from  their  simple  absurdity,  and 
want  of  purpose.  Everything  that  is  said,  whether  of 
praise  or  censure,  is  spoken  ironically,  and  accepted  as  a 
joke  by  the  upper-class  men  who  know  how  dead  the 
societies  are.  The  Freshmen  also  laugh  with  the  rest, 
without  exactly  knowing  the  reason  why.  At  the  close 
of  the  addresses,  they  are  called  upon  to  join  one  society 
or  the  other,  and  those  who  are  not  present — that  is,  a 
large  majority  of  the  class — are  distributed  alphabeti 
cally,  as  before.  Though  there  is  no  regular  u  rush," 
the  Sophs  annoy  the  Fresh  in  coming  up  the  stairway — 
the  meeting  being  held  in  one  of  the  society  halls — and 
interrupt  proceedings  generally,  by  snapping  beans  about 
the  hall,  and  making  other  diversions  of  a  similar  char 
acter.  The  two  upper  classes,  especially  the  Juniors, 
respond  to  the  president's  calls  for  "  order"  by  attempt 
ing  to  eject  from  the  hall  some  disorderly  Sophomore  ; 
whereupon  the  classmates  of  the  latter  rally  to  his 
defence,  and  a  wild  tumult  ensues, — the  result  of  which 
is  that  most  of  the  Sophomores  are  forcibly  thrust  out 
and  the  door  locked  behind  them.  In  revenge  for  this 
indignity,  they  smash  the  windows  of  the  hall,  and  raise 
discordant  outcries,  while  their  comrades  who  were  left 
inside  loudly  clamor  for  their  readmittance.  At  last 
they  are  allowed  to  enter  again,  and  the  "  exercises"  pro 
ceed  as  before. 

The  form  of  initiation  in  vogue  when  '69  entered  col" 
lege  was  for  each  new-comer  to  assent  to  the  pledge  of 


200  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

fidelity  to  the  society — thereby  promising  to  be  "  true  to 
its  interests  and  faithful  to  its  secrets" — and  sign  his 
name  in  a  book  supposed  to  contain   its  constitution. 
The  pledge  was  read  off  by  the  president,  and  three 
cheers  were  proposed  by  him  or  some  other  member  for 
each  one  as  he  signed  his  name.     A  good  part  of  each 
freshman  class  joined  during  the  progress  of  the  cam 
paign  meetings,  and  as  some  of  them  were  unable  to 
pass  their  entrance  examinations,  the  lists  of  each  soci 
ety  very  often  contained  names  of  men  never  actually 
belonging  to  the  college.     The  same  fact  is  still  true  of 
the   freshman  societies, —  one   or  two  men  who  never 
u  make  up  their  conditions"  being  initiated  into  them 
almost  every  year.     Now-a-days,  a  large  share  of  college 
never  formally  join  either  Linonia  or  Brothers,  although 
in  the  Banner  and  Pot  Pourri  the  letter  "L."  or  "  B." 
is  still  prefixed  to  every  name,  to  indicate  membership  in 
one  or  the  other  of  them.     Formerly  the  Banner  gave 
each   society   separately,  though   arranged  as   now   in 
classes.     Nobody  now  cares  which  society  he  is  assigned 
to  ;  and  few,  when  asked,  can  readily  tell  which,  without 
reference  to  a  catalogue.     No  one  ever  pretends  to  re 
member  the  open-society  connections  of  any  one  save 
himself;  and  often  in  the  making  up  of  a  joint  commit 
tee,  a  man  is  appointed  to  represent  one  society  when 
he  really  belongs  to  another,  and  perhaps  he  may  even 
fulfil  his  duties  without  discovering  the  mistake. 

It  was  perhaps  during  the  first  third  of  the  present 
century  that  the  societies  saw  their  best  days.  The  time 
when  they  came  together  was  thought  the  gala  night  of 
all  the  week,  and  all  classes  met  then  on  a  footing  of 
perfect  equality, — though  the  Seniors  naturally  took  the 
lead  in  affairs,  and  the  Freshmen  were  for  the  most  part 
interested  spectators  rather  than  actors.  The  liter  ary 
eftbrts  of  the  latter  were  mostly  confined  to  their  own 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  2OI 

class  society  or  debating  club,  which  held  fortnightly 
meetings  in  one  of  the  recitation  rooms,  had  little  organ 
ization  and  no  name,  and  was  disbanded  at  the  close  of 
the  year,  —  the  freshman  clubs  of  no  two  successive 
classes  having  any  connection  with  each  other.  Fifty 
years  ago,  when  the  general  societies  were  absolutely 
secret,  it  was  thought  a  great — as  it  was  an  infrequent 
— triumph  for  a  man  to  find  out  the  name  of  the  presi 
dent  or  other  officers  in  a  rival  society.  About  a  third 
of  the  members  regularly  attended  the  meetings ;  as 
many  more  went  to  the  halls  half  of  the  time,  and  the 
remainder  frequented  them  only  occasionally.  Attend 
ance  was  not  compulsory,  except  to  fulfil  appointments, 
and  an  "  excusing  committee"  passed  judgment  on  all 
excuses,  at  the  close  of  each  meeting.  They  reported 
to  the  librarians  the  names  of  those  who  refused  to  pay 
their  fines,  and  the  librarians  in  turn  forbid  such  delin 
quent  the  privileges  of  the  library  until  the  claims  of 
the  society  were  satisfied.  Brothers  was  nicknamed 
"  the  Cider  Mill"  by  the  men  of  Linonia,  because  it  was 
said  to  conduct  its  debates  strictly  according  to  the  cat 
alogue, — obliging  each  man  to  speak  in  his  "  turn"  as 
the  alphabet  had  arranged  it,  and  allowing  no  voluntary 
efforts  outside  this  regular  order. 

Originally  the  societies  were  strictly  secret,  as  already 
stated,  and  as  late  as  1840  none  but  members  were  ex 
pected  to  attend  their  meetings,  save  by  formal  invita 
tions  on  special  occasions,  but  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
past  all  college  has  been  at  liberty  to  frequent  either 
hall,  as  much  or  as  little  as  has  seemed  good  to  it. 
The  ordinary  meetings  are  held  every  Wednesday  even 
ing  of  the  term,  beginning  at  eight  o'clock, — the  hour 
of  assembling  being  indicated  by  a  ringing  of  the  col 
lege  bell.  The  chief  feature  of  these  exercises  is  a 
debate  between  four  appointed  disputants,  two  of  them 
10* 


202  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

speaking  on  each  side,  on  some  question  chosen  by  them 
or  the  president,  three  or  four  weeks  previously.  This 
debate  is  also  "sustained"  by  as  many  impromptu  speak 
ers  as  can  be  induced  to  volunteer.  Besides  this,  there 
are  occasional  essays,  orations  and  poems.  On  "  elec 
tion  nights,"  when  the  debate  is  suspended,  an  unusually 
good  oration  or  poem  is  looked  for,  and  "  the  other  soci 
ety"  is  often  formally  invited  to  hear  it, — which  invita 
tion  it  as  ceremoniously  accepts  or  declines.  The  pres 
ent  tense  is  here  employed,  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
to  describe  the  state  of  things  existing  when  '69  entered 
college,  and  still  kept  up  in  theory.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  such  meetings  are  now  held.  Sometimes  a 
crowd  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen  chance  together  in  one  of 
the  halls  of  a  Wednesday  evening,  and  hold  any  kind 
of  ex-tempore  exercises  they  may  happen  to  think  of. 
Often  no  one  goes  to  the  halls  at  all.  Even  the  posters 
are  not  often  seen  now,  and  are  never  read  or  regarded. 
Formerly,  almost  every  tree  in  the  college  yard  had  its 
red  (Linonia)  and  blue  (Brothers)  posters  tacked  to  it  each 
Tuesday  morning.  On  these  were  indicated  the  ques 
tion  for  debate  for  the  next  meeting,  with  the  names  of 
the  speakers,  the  names  of  the  orator,  essayist,  etc.,  and 
the  names  of  those  appointed  to  speak  at  future  meet 
ings.  A  special  notice  of  the  time  and  nature  of  his 
appointment  used  also  to  be  sent  to  each  individual. 

A  custom  which  doubtless  saw  its  best  days  within 
the  fifteen  or  twenty  years  following  1825,  was  the  giv 
ing  of  occasional  "exhibitions,"  in  which  each  society 
endeavored  to  surpass  the  other.  The  chief  features  of 
each  of  these  "exhibitions"  consisted  of  a  dramatic 
poem,  a  tragedy,  and  a  comedy,  all  written  for  the  oc 
casion  by  members  of  the  society.  These  were  never 
printed,  but  the  "  fragments  of  unpublished  dramas," 
occasionallv  to  be  met  with  in  the  earlier  volumes  of  the 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  203 

Z//.,  give  some  notion  of  their  quality.  Except  for  the 
smaller  type,  the  programmes  resembled  ordinary  play 
bills,  being  printed  on  one  side  of  narrow  strips  of 
paper,  sometimes  two  feet  in  length.  The  names  of  the 
two  "  managers"  appeared  at  the  foot  of  them.  Some 
times  the  true  names  of  the  actors  were  printed,  and 
sometimes  their  fancy  titles  only.  Each  society  accu 
mulated  quite  a  wardrobe  of  costumes,  which  it  dis 
played  to  the  Freshmen  as  an  electioneering  argument ; 
though  the  dresses  were  really  common  property,  as 
each  borrowed  from  the  other.  It  is  said  that  the  fac 
ulty  finally  put  an  end  to  these  "  exhibitions,"  on  the 
ground  of  their  engrossing  too  much  attention  from  the 
students. 

The  society  offices — of  president  and  vice-president 
in  the  senior  class,  secretary  in  the  junior  class,  and 
vice-secretary  in  the  sophomore  class — used  to  be  con 
sidered  high  honors,  and  were  sharply  contested  for. 
Originally  the  officers  served  for  a  year,  afterwards  for 
a  term,  while  for  the  past  thirty  years  or  more  they  have 
been  chosen  five  times  annually.  A  wide  field  was 
thus  spread  open  for  the  practise  of  junior-society  poli 
tics,  and  the  wranglings  over  the  elections  were  protracted 
and  bitter.  The  office  of  campaign  president  or  one 
first  chosen  from  each  senior  class — the  Juniors  being 
recognized  as  Seniors  within  the  meaning  of  the  regula 
tion,  and  the  other  two  classes  proportionate  advanced, 
on  the  evening  of  the  campaign  election — was  the  special 
object  of  ambition,  being  considered  the  highest  general 
elective  honor  of  the  college.  All  of  the  minor  "  cam 
paign  offices"  were  more  eagerly  sought  for  than  the 
same  positions  at  subsequent  elections.  Hence  the 
amount  of  political  intrigue,  and  wire-pulling,  and  log 
rolling,  expended  in  deciding  the  first  election  in  these 
two  societies  was  almost  fabulous.  The  three  lower 


2<H  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

classes  were  vitally  interested  in  the  matter,  for  each 
had  a  share  in  the  spoils,  and  a  vice-secretaryship  might 
be  as  valuable  in  taking  one  man  to  Sigma  Phi  as  a 
presidency  in  taking  another  man  to  Bones  or  Keys. 
The  bargains  and  coalitions  and  combinations  and 
cross-combinations  made  between  the  six  junior  and 
freshman  societies  were  therefore  all  but  innumerable, 
and  far  surpassed  in  intricacy  anything  now  possible, 
when  each  class  has  its  own  independent  politics.  The 
class-society  connections  of  the  candidates  seem  always 
to  have  been  considered,  though  it  was  only  for  the 
campaign  election  that  formal  coalitions  were  made. 
The  mode  of  voting  on  that  occasion  was  as  follows  : 
First,  "  the  Seniors"  were  called  for,  and  each  member 
of  the  junior  class,  as  his  name  was  read,  in  alphabetical 
order,  stepped  forward  and  cast  his  ballot ;  then  "  the 
Juniors''  were  called,  and  the  Sophomores  voted  ;  then, 
instead  of  calling  "the  Sophomores,"  u  the  Freshmen" 
were  called  for.  Upon  this,  the  Fresh  would  shriek, 
yell  and  hiss,  until  the  secretary,  correcting  his  "  mis 
take"  would  address  them  as  "  Sophomores,"  when, 
with  tremendous  cheering  and  enthusiasm,  the  Fresh 
men  would  in  turn  march  to  the  ballot-box.  Should 
the  first  Fresh  on  the  list  be  unaware  of  the  trick,  and 
start  forward  to  vote  at  the  first  calling  of  his  name  as 
"  a  Freshman,"  he  would  be  dragged  back  by  his  more 
watchful  comrades,  and  the  storm  of  hisses  would  grow 
terrific  until  the  coveted  name  of  "  Sophomore"  was 
announced.  Printed  blanks  for  voting  were  provided 
by  the  society ;  but  regular  ballots,  with  the  names  of 
their  candidates  indicated  in  full,  were  usually  supplied 
by  the  rival  factions. 

The  vice-president  was  expected  to  sit  in  a  chair  at 
the  side  of  the  president,  and  was  usually  elected  his 
successor.  The  secretary  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  205 

ornamental  officer,  for  all  his  work  was  performed  by 
the  vice-secretary,  who  sat  at  a  table  in  front  of  the 
president's  desk.  The  "  censor"  was  an  officer  peculiar 
to  Brothers,  and  perhaps  used  to  read  an  occasional 
critique  on  the  proceedings  of  the  society.  From  this 
seems  to  have  originated  the  comic  "  censor's  report" 
of  the  Thanksgiving  Jubilee.  Now-a-days,  the  offices 
are  filled  by  default,  and  any  one  who  chooses  to  take  a 
half-dozen  friends  with  him  to  the  hall  on  election  night 
can  have  whatever  one  of  them  he  may  want.  Who 
the  officers  may  be,  college  in  general  neither  knows 
nor  cares  ;  and  they  are  all  regarded  with  a  mild  sort 
of  derision  in  the  rare  cases  when  they  are  thought  of 
at  all.  Each  society,  with  a  nominal  membership  of 
250,  used  to  consider  an  ordinary  meeting  well  attended 
when  a  tenth  of  that  number  were  present.  This  was 
in  the  first  of  '69*3  four  years:  in  the  last,  for  a  twen 
tieth  of  the  members  to  frequent  the  hall  was  considered 
extraordinary.  The  quorum  needed  to  adopt  the  con 
stitutional  changes  establishing  a  reading-room  was  only 
got  together  after  repeated  attempts,  although  the  pro 
ject  was  favored  by  every  one.  No  quorum  has  assem 
bled  since  then,  and  it  is  hardly  probable  that  another 
will  ever  be  drawn  together.  Up  to  1860,  a  treasurer 
was  included  among  the  society  officers,  and  the  funds 
were  managed  by  direct  vote  of  its  members.  At  that 
time  the  faculty  were  induced  to  have  the  college  treas 
urer  made  tax-collector,  and  since  then  a  society  tax  of 
$6 — increased  in  1867  to  $8 — a  year  has  been  assessed, 
in  three  equal  instalments,  upon  the  official  term-bills. 
In  the  old  times,  about  a  third  of  the  society  dues  were 
never  collected,  but  now  no  undergraduate  can  shirk 
paying  his  "  society  tax"  without  defying  "  the  president 
and  fellows  of  Yale  College,"  in  whose  name  it  is  col 
lected.  Save  for  this  arrangement,  the  societies,  even 


206  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

as  "  institutions,"  would  have  ceased  to  exist,  by  the  re 
fusal  of  new-comers  to  join  them  or  pay  any  money  in 
their  behalf.  The  $400  now  annually  collected  in  their 
names  is  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  assistant 
treasurer  of  the  college. 

The  two  society  halls  are  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
Alumni  Hall  building,  and  are  of  exactly  the  same  size 
and  shape, — measuring  50  by  25  feet,  and  25  feet  in 
hight.  Both  are  handsomely  furnished,  though  per 
haps  that  of  Brothers  presents  the  most  elegant  appear 
ance, — the  upholstery  and  hangings  being  of  blue,  the 
society's  color.  The  walls  are  also  frescoed,  and  a  large 
painting  in  which  Col.  Humphreys  forms  the  chief  fig 
ure  hangs  above  the  president's  desk.  In  Linonia  the 
seats  are  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  semi-circle,  rising 
one  above  the  other.  Two1  life-size  marble  statues — 
the  one  of  Demosthenes,  the  other  of  Sophocles — stand 
in  the  corners.  They  are  copies  of  the  antique,  and 
were  executed  at  Rome  in  1858,  by  E.  S.  Bartholomew, 
especially  for  the  society.  It  has  long  been  a  standing 
joke  in  college  that  no  one  is  able  to  tell  "  which  is 
which."  As  a  set-off  to  the  statues,  Brothers  appropri 
ated  a  large  sum  of  money  in  behalf  of  the  "  Pilgrims' 
Monument "  at  Plymouth,  and  a  small  bronze  copy 
of  the  same  stands  upon  its  president's  desk.  Before 
taking  possession  of  its  present  quarters  in  1852,  Lino 
nia  had  rented  a  hall  on  Chapel  street,  in  the  third  story 
of  the  building  opposite  the  college  yard,  for  nearly 
fifty  years.  In  this  hall,  which  is  now  the  Courant  com 
posing  room,  this  book  was  put  in  type.  Brothers  hall 
used  to  be  further  down  Chapel,  in  Glebe  Building,  cor 
ner  of  Church  street.  During  the  last  century,  the  so 
cieties  had  no  halls  of  their  own,  but  met  in  the  various 
recitation  rooms  and  other  general  resorts. 

Catalogues  of  their  members  wrere  first  published  in 


THE  SO  CIE  TV  S  YS  TEM.  207 

1841.  The  names  were  arranged  alphabetically  by 
classes,  and  repeated  in  an  index  like  that  of  the  college 
triennial  catalogue.  Residences  and  the  various  honor 
ary  titles  and  achievements  of  members  were  indicated, 
and  the  society  presidents  were  also  noted.  The 
Brothers  catalogue  contained  in  addition  a  special  list  of 
these,  in  the  order  of  their  succession.  Each,  catalogue 
made  a  pamphlet  of  about  ninety  pages  and  was  printed 
by  Hitchcock  &  Stafford.  The  second  one  of  Brothers 
(1854)  also  came  from  the  same  press.  It  contained  a 
steel-engraved  view  of  Alumni  Hall,  and  was  bound  in 
a  blue  paper  cover.  The  second  of  Linonia  was  printed 
by  Baker,  Godwin  &  Co.  of  New  York,  in  1853,  to 
celebrate  its  one  hundredth  anniversary.  Each  society 
professed  to  publish  the  names  of  none  save  its  graduate 
members,  and — though  the  rule  was  somewhat  infringed 
upon — its  total  membership  was  by  this  means  reduced 
at  least  one  fourth.  Neither  were  lists  printed  of  the 
"  honorary  members,"  elected  from  the  world  at  large, 
and  estimated  to  comprise  in  each  case  from  five  hun 
dred  to  a  thousand  individuals.  The  necessary  errors 
were  many,  but  besides  these  each  society  charged  the 
other  with  the  commission  of  many  intentional  ones. 
The  motto  of  Linonia  was,  Quiescit  in  perfecto ;  of 
Brothers,  E  parvis  oriiintur  magnet.  The  former  society 
"once  boasted  of  a  watch-key  badge,  consisting  of  a  thin 
gold  plate,  heart  shaped,  on  one  side  of  which  was  en 
graved  "  Linonia,  Sept.  12,  1753,"  and  on  the  other,  in 
five  separate  designs,  a  dove,  a  swan,  a  dog,  a  phoenix, 
and  a  library  of  books.  This  design — in  connection 
with  the  motto,  Amiritia,  concordia,  soli  noscimus — also 
formed  a  part  of  the  illuminated  book-label,  for  many 
years  employed. 

The    accumulation    of   books   seems   to   have   been 
begun  at  a  very  early  period.     In  the  last  catalogue  of 


208  FOUR    YEARS  A?  YALE. 

the  Linonia  library — printed  in  1860  by  J.  H.  Benham, 
and  comprising  300  octavo  pages — the  number  of 
volumes  named  was  11,300,  and  subsequent  additions 
make  the  present  number  13,300.  "  In  1770  there  were 
stated  to  be  nearly  100  volumes;  in  1780,  152;  in 
I79°^  33°;  in  l8oo>  475  ;  m  l8ll>  724;  in  1822,  1187  ; 
in  1831,3505;  in  1837,  5581;  in  1841,  7500;  and  in 
1846,  10,103."  Brothers'  last  catalogue,  of  the  same 
size  as  Linonia's,  was  printed  in  July,  1851,  by  T.  J. 
Stafford,  and  contained  a  steel-engraved  view  of  the 
Library  building.  It  mentioned  11,652  volumes,  while 
its  present  number  is  13,400.  "The  old  catalogues 
show  the  number  of  books  at  successive  periods  to  have 
been  as  follows:  in  1781,  163  ;  in  1808,  723  ;  in  1818, 
937 ;  in  1825,  1730 ;  in  1832,  3562  ;  in  1835,  4565  ;  in 
1838,  6078  ;  and  in  1846,  9140."  Brothers  occupies  the 
north  wing  of  the  Library  building,  and  Linonia  the 
south,  and  originally  there  were  no  inner  passage  ways 
between  the  wings  and  the  main  building.  In  1860,  by 
vote  of  the  societies  and  consent  of  the  faculty,  the 
partitions  were  cut  through  and  connecting  doors  in 
serted.  This  seems  to  have  been  considered  as  an 
essential  part  of  the  plan  of  having  the  college  librarian's 
assistants  act  as  librarians  for  the  societies,  though 
these  inner  passage-ways  are  never  made  use  of  now. 
Up  to  the  time  referred  to,  the  librarians  had  been 
active  members  of  the  societies,  and  received  no  return 
for  their  services  save  the  "  honor,"  and  possibly  the 
fines  they  were  able  to  collect.  Since  then,  resident 
graduates,  usually  Theologues,  have  been  employed  on  a 
salary,  at  first  quite  small,  but  now  increased  to  $225 
per  annum.  Each  of  these  librarians  has  two  Seniors 
as  assistants,  who  are  also  paid  $75  a  year  for  their 
services.  The  libraries  are  open  for  the  drawing  of 
books  for  the  half-hour  succeeding  dinner  every  after- 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S  YS TEM.  2  09 

noon,  and  during  this  time,  according  to  the  old  plan, 
no  one  save  the  officers  was  allowed  "  behind  the  rail 
ing."  Each  man  attached  his  name  to  a  slip  of  paper 
on  which  he  had  marked  the  numbers  of  the  desired 
books,  and  these  slips  were  attended  to  by  the  assist 
ants,  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  handed  to  the 
librarian.  More  recently  the  plan  has  been  adopted  of 
allowing  those  who  wish  to  themselves  select  their 
books  from  the  shelves.1  By  an  arrangement  adopted 
in  1848,  every  member  of  either  society  can  draw  four 
volumes  at  a  time  from  each  of  the  libraries.  Resident 
graduates  are  allowed  the  same  privileges  ;  and  honorary 
members  can  also  draw  their  eight  volumes  daily,  on  pay 
ment  of  a  fee  of  one  dollar  a  term.  For  an  hour  succeeding 
the  time  of  taking  out  books — and  of  course,  under  the 
recent  plan,  during  that  half-hour  also — the  libraries  are 
kept  open  "  for  consultation,"  and  the  alcoves  and  inner 
seats  are  made  accessible  to  every  one.  This  opportunity 
for  consultation  was  first  given  in  1860,  and  until  within 
a  few  years  the  consultation  hour  was  in  the  forenoon. 
Before  the  present  edifice  was  built,  the  society  libraries 
were  stored  in  the  Athenaeum.  Formerly,  it  was  cus 
tomary  for  every  member  as  he  graduated  to  give  at 
least  one  book  to  his  society  library,  as  in  duty  bound, 
but  now  the  additions  are  all  made  by  purchase. 

The  college  reading-room  is  another  thing,  carried  on 
by  the  faculty,  in  the  name  of  the  dead  societies.  The 
attempt  to  organize  something  of  the  sort  had  been 
often  made  without  result.  About  the  time  that  '69  en 
tered  college,  a  joint  committee  from  the  two  societies 
reported  in  favor  of  combining  the  two  libraries,  and 
using  the  vacated  building  as  a  reading-room,  but  noth 
ing  was  done  to  carry  out  the  plan.  Another  proposal 
was  to  use  the  Calliope  hall  for  the  purpose ;  while 
newspaper  writers  called  for  the  surrender  of  one  of  the 


210  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

vacant  rooms  in  the  Art  Building.     Finally,  a  petition, 
calling  upon   the  faculty  "  to  take  immediate   steps  for 
the  establishment  of   a  reading-room,"  was  circulated 
and  very  generally  signed,  which  resulted  in  the  arrange 
ment  whereby  the  faculty  promised  to  provide  a  reading 
room,  and  the  societies  to  supply  the  money  to  carry  it 
on.      The   four   middle  rooms  on  the  ground   floor  of 
South  Middle  were  accordingly  made   into  one  by  the 
tearing  away  of  the  partitions,  and  an  enclosure  for  the 
College  Bookstore  was  built  in  the  middle  of  it.     The 
doors  on  the  west  were  fastened  but  the  other  two  were 
left  open,  and  with  new  floor,  plaster,  paper,  and  paint, 
the  old  quarters  were  transformed  into  a  very  respectable 
reading-room,  which  was  first  opened  with  the  summer 
term  of  1867.     Upon  a  fixed  desk  or  rack,  extending 
about  the  sides  of  the  room,  are  kept  the  files  of  about 
25  daily  newspapers,  and  a  dozen  weekly  journals  like 
the  Saturday  Review  and  Nation,  as  well  as  Punch  and 
the   Illustrated  News.      High    stools   are    provided   for 
those  who  do  not  wish  to  stand  while  consulting  the  files. 
Some  30  reviews  and  magazines,  and  as  many  more 
religious  periodicals,  may  be  obtained  on  application  at 
what  was  formerly  the  Bookstore  window,  and  must  be 
returned  there  by  the  applicant  before  leaving  the  room. 
On  Sundays,  all  the  newspaper  and  other  "secular"  lit 
erature   is  locked  up,  and  the  "  religious"   papers  and 
magazines  are  spread  out  upon  the  tables.     All  in  all, 
there  are  about  120  different  periodicals.     The  newspa 
pers  are  kept  on  the  files  for  about  a  week,  and  are  then 
piled  in  the  Treasurer's  office,  and  are  ultimately  sold 
for  waste-paper.     The  magazines  and  more  important 
periodicals  are  bound  and  placed  in  the  society  libra 
ries.     These  magazines  had  been  taken  by  the  societies 
before  the  reading-room  was  established,  but  were  never 
accessible  to  the  students  except  in  the  form  of  bound 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  211 

volumes,  that  is,  until  they  were  six  months  or  a  year 
old.  An  indigent  Senior  is  employed  to  take  charge  of 
the  reading-room,  open  and  close  it  at  the  specified  hours, 
— eight  in  the  morning  and  ten  at  night, — give  out  the 
magazines  from  the  office-window,  and  attend  to  the 
keeping  of  the  files.  This  work  was  formerly  performed 
by  the  proprietor  of  the  College  Bookstore,  in  consider 
ation  of  paying  no  rent.  A  committee  of  three  from  the 
faculty  decide  what  periodicals  to  purchase,  and  have 
the  annual  spending  of  $1000, — the  "  society  tax"  being, 
by  constitutional  amendment,  increased  from  $6  to  $8 
per  member  on  account  of  the  reading-room.  It  should 
be  remarked  that  all  the  "  religious"  literature  is  sup 
plied  by  the  Yale  Missionary  Society.  The  reading- 
room  is  a  very  popular  resort  both  for  readers  and  for 
loungers,  and  is  a  much  frequented  rendezvous  during 
the  half-hour  preceeding  recitation  time.  The  largest 
crowds  of  actual  readers  assemble  there  immediately 
after  dinner  and  supper,  though  there  are  few  hours  in 
the  twelve  when  it  is  entirely  deserted.  Few  but  under 
graduates  make  use  of  it,  and  those  few  rarely  pay  any 
thing  for  the  privilege,  though  an  admission  fee  is  nom 
inally  required  of  them.  The  room  is  lighted  with  gas, 
well  heated,  supplied  with  tables,  chairs,  settees,  etc., 
but  has  no  carpet  or  other  covering  upon  its  floor.  Its 
forerunner  was  a  rack,  beside  the  bowling  alleys  in  the 
basement  of  the  Gymnasium,  upon  which  were  filed  a 
half-dozen  daily  newspapers,  which  the  faculty  paid  for. 
The  College  Bookstore,  though  combined  with  the 
reading-room,  did  not  spring  into  existence  at  the  same 
time  with  it,  but  had  led  an  independent  life  for  quite  a 
number  of  years.  Doubtless  some  of  the  poorer  stu 
dents  had  attempted  to  turn  an  honest  penny  by  selling 
text  books  before  that  time,  but  the  first  mention  made 
of  college  booksellers  was  in  the  fall  of  1851,  when  a 


212  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Senior,  in  North,  and  a  Theologue,  in  Divinity,  opened 
their  rooms  to  "  the  trade."  On  the  following  summer, 
the  latter  sold  out  to  Pliny  F.  Warner  of  '55,  who  seems 
to  have  been  the  real  founder  of  the  Bookstore,  for 
though  he  disposed  of  its  "good  will"  three  or  four 
times  in  the  interval,  he  was  called  back  to  the  rescue 
when-  the  concern  was  in  trouble,  and  so  may  be  said  to 
have  "  run"  it  for  five  years,  or  until  1857,  when  he  fi 
nally  sold  out  to  a  Sophomore  of  '60.  The  latter 
remained  proprietor  until  graduation,  when  a  '61  man 
bought  it  and  held  it  for  two  years,  after  which  time  all 
the  owners  were  Theologues  until  1868,  when  it  was 
bought  by  a  '70  man,  who,  when  he  graduated,  sold  out 
to  Charles  C.  Chatfield  &  Co.,  and  so  put  an  end  to  it 
as  a  college  institution.  The  "  store,"  migrating  first  to 
17  South,  and  then  to  155  Divinity,  finally  reached  34 
South  Middle  in  1861,  and  remained  in  that  locality — 
after  1867  as  the  central  feature  of  the  reading-room — 
until  its  final  absorption,  in  the  fall  of  1870.  Various 
city  booksellers  had  often  tried  to  crush  the  enterprise, 
by  underselling,  and  by  calling  their  own  establishments 
"  college  bookstores,"  "  student's  bookstores,"  "  Yale 
bookstores,"  and  the  like,  but  the  students  generally 
looked  upon  their  own  institution  as  a  protection  against 
monopolists,  and  rallied  to  its  support.  Previous  to 
1867,  the  proprietor  of  the  Bookstore  performed  all  the 
work  himself,  and  kept  his  shop  open  only  at  certain  stated 
intervals  each  day  ;  but,  after  that,  a  clerk  was  employed, 
whose  office  hours  corresponded  with  those  of  the  read 
ing-room,  and  the  business  of  the  concern  was  enlarged 
so  as  to  include  not  only  the  selling  of  text  books  and 
stationery,  and  the  delivery  of  the  college  prints  and 
periodicals,  but  the  selling  of  miscellaneous  books  and 
publications,  and  the  delivery  of  newspapers,  photo 
graphs,  etc.,  of  every  sort.  In  short,  it  had  become 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEAL  2 1 3 

transformed  into  a  general  bookstore  and  news  agency, 
and  was  monopolizing  a  good  share  of  the  reading-room's 
space,  and  was  making  itself  a  public  nuisance,  when 
it  was  ordered  out  of  the  college  limits,  and  passed  into 
the  hands  of  its  present  proprietors,  whose  establish 
ment  is  on  Chapel  street,  opposite  the  college  yard.  It 
is  still  advertised  as  the  "  College  Bookstore."  For  a 
year  after  the  establishment  of  the  reading-room,  a 
branch  post-office  was  connected  with  the  Bookstore, 
the  "boxes"  whereof  were  rented  for  a  doHar  each, 
or  one  half  the  price  of  those  in  the  general  office. 
Among  other  advantages,  the  branch  office  was  kept 
open  two  hours  later  in  the  evening  than  the  other ;  but 
all  who  wished  to  make  use  of  the  branch  were  obliged 
to  secure  boxes,  as  there  was  no  "general  delivery"  in 
connection  with  it.  The  office  grew  in  popularity,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  second  year  the  number  of  boxes 
was  doubled  ;  but  just  then  word  came  from  the  depart 
ment  at  Washington  that  the  establishment  was  con 
trary  to  the  official  regulations,  and  so  it  was  abandoned 
forthwith — and  an  after  attempt  to  resuscitate  it  was  in 
vain.  Though  New  Haven  has  a  "free  delivery,"  the 
carriers  will  not  deliver  letters  to  the  colleges,  even 
when  directed  to  particular  rooms,  and  hence  the  stu 
dents  who  room  in  college  are  obliged  to  rent  boxes,  as 
a  large  portion  of  them  do,  or  frequent  the  lobby  of 
the  "general  delivery." 

The  Prize  Debates,  now  held  under  the  auspices  of 
the  two  societies,  are  about  the  only  reminders  of  their 
former  "  literary  "  character.  The  introduction  of  these 
superseded  the  idea  of  a  "  Test  Debate,"  which  it  had 
been  attempted  to  establish  at  about  that  time,  as  a 
means  of  deciding  the  question  of  literary  superiority 
among  the  rival  societies.  The  present  system  was 
inaugurated  by  William  I).  Bishop  of  '49,  who,  a  year 


2I4  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

after  graduation,  presented  Linonia  with  $1000  in  7  per 
cent  railroad  bonds,   the  interest  of  which  was  to  be 
divided  into  two  first  prizes  of  $25,  a  second  prize  of 
$15,  and  a  third  prize  of  $5,  for  the  encouragement  of 
debate  in  the  two  lower  classes.     One  of  the  first  prizes 
was  always  to  be  given   to   a  Freshman,  and  the  other 
three  could  be  competed  for  by  Freshmen  and  Sopho 
mores  on  equal  terms.     Other  regulations  in  regard  to 
the  matter  were  these  :  "  Five  graduates  of  Linonia  shall 
be  chosen  by  the  society  by  ballot,  and  their  names  put 
by  the  secretary  into  a  box  from  which  the  president 
shall   draw  out  indiscriminately   three   who    shall  con 
stitute  a  committee  to  hear  the  discussion  and  award  the 
prizes,  their  decision  being  based  upon  the  'argument,' 
the  'style,'  and   the   'delivery.'     Each  disputant  shal'l 
have  the  privilege  of  speaking  but  once  and  of  occupy 
ing  but  twenty  minutes.      Those  who  are   desirous  of 
competing  for  the  prizes  shall  hand  in  their  names  to 
the  president  at  least  one  week  previous  to  the  discus 
sion.     The  chairman  of  the  committee  shall  call  upon 
the  disputants  by  lot,  and   each  disputant  shall  imme 
diately  respond  to  his  name  or  be  debarred  the  privilege 
of  taking  part  in  the    debate.       The    discussion    shall 
take  place  during  the  last  half  of  the  second  term  of  the 
college  year."     Twenty  men  entered   the  first  debate, 
March  2,  1851,  and  with  slight  changes  and  modifications 
the  plan  mentioned  remained  in  vogue  until  1860,  when 
the  joint  debate  was  abandoned,  and   each  class  has 
since  had  an  independent  trial  of  its  own,  for  three  prizes 
of  $20,    $10,    and  $5.       Under  the  old  rule,  it  rarely 
happened  that  the  Freshmen   were   able   to   win  more 
than  the  single  prize  necessarily  allotted   to  them.     In 
1854  there  was  a  senior  debate  in  which  one  prize  was 
awarded,  but  it  was  not  until  four  years  afterwards  that 
the  regular  senior  prize  debate   was  instituted  by  the 


THE  SOCIE  TY  SYSTEM.  2 1 5 

society.  Two  prizes  only  were  awarded  during  each  of 
the  first  three  years  of  the  senior  debate,  but  since  '62 
three  have  each  year  been  given.  The  junior  debate 
was  introduced  in  the  class  of  '65,  and  with  that  class, 
therefore,  was  perfected  the  system,  since  in  vogue,  of 
competing  in  debate,  for  three  prizes,  in  each  one  of 
the  four  academic  years.  The  value  of  the  prizes  in 
each  of  the  two  upper  classes  is  $20,  $15,  and  $10. 

Brothers,  meanwhile,  had  of  course  felt  in  duty  bound 
to  be  equal  with  its  rival  in  the  encouragement  of 
eloquence.  So,  in  1853,  each  class  had  a  prize  debate, 
— the  Sophomores  on  February  16,  the  Juniors  on 
February  19,  the  Freshmen  on  March  2,  and  the  Seniors 
on  March  9.  One  prize  in  each  upper  class,  and  three 
prizes  in  the  freshman  class  were  competed  for.  Next 
year,  the  Juniors  competed  for  one  prize,  and  the  Fresh 
men  for  three  prizes.  For  the  five  years  following,  only 
the  two  lower  classes  debated, — the  Sophomores  for  two 
prizes,  the  Freshmen  for  three  as  before.  In  the  for 
mer  class  the  number  of  prizes  was  first  increased  to 
three  in  the  class  of '62.  In  '59  came  the  first  regular 
senior  debate,  for  two  prizes,  to  which  a  third  was  first 
added  in  '61.  The  class  of  '65  omitted  their  sophomore 
debate,  and  held  one,  for  three  prizes,  in  junior  year, 
instead  of  it.  With  '66/  therefore,  or  a  year  later  than 
in  Linonia,  was  perfected  the  present  system  of  four 
prize  debates  a  year — each  for  three  prizes,  of  $20,  $15, 
and  $10.  Hence,  both  societies  together  now  award 
twenty-four  debate  prizes  a  year,  amounting  in  the 
aggregate  to  $340  in  value,  but  as  a  large  proportion  of 
them  are  "split"  the  number  of  individuals  "honored" 
in  this  way  is  from  30  to  40  annually.  Of  the  prize 
money  all  but  the  $70  (or  less,  in  years  when  the  bonds 
are  depreciated)  derived  from  the  Bishop  fund,  comes 
from  the  taxes  assessed  on  the  term-bills  of  the  students. 


2I6  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

By  order  of  the  faculty  the  debates  must  now  be  held 
within  ten  days  from  the  opening  of  the  term.     Those 
of  the  Seniors  and  Sophomores  introduce  the  second 
term  ;  those  of  the  Juniors  and  Freshmen,  the   third  ; 
though  the  junior  debate  came  at  the  former  time  until 
within  a  year  or  two.     The  question   for  discussion  is 
chosen  a  month  or  two  in  advance,  by  those  intending 
to  discuss  it,  and  the  order  in  which  they  are  to  speak 
is  also  determined  in  advance,  by  lot.   The  three  persons 
who  act  as  judges  are  usually  graduates  of  the  college 
and  society,  though  little  attempt  is  made  to  adhere  to 
the  original  rule  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  any  gentle 
man  of  requisite  age  and  "  weight,"  who  can  be  per 
suaded  to  serve,  is  quickly  accepted  as  judge,  without 
much    regard    to    his   college    or    society    antecedents. 
Members  of  the  faculty  are  usually  the  first  ones  applied 
to,  and  some  of  them  serve  as  judges  on  nearly  every 
debate.     Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  are  the  times  pre 
ferred,  though  the  other  days  of  the  week  are  selected 
almost  as  often,  for  holding  the  contests.     Frequently, 
though  not  always,  the  debates  of  the  two  societies  are 
in  progress  at  the  same  time.     When  only  eight  or  nine 
speakers  take  part,   the  debate  is  finished  in  a  single 
session,  which  is  held  in  the  evening ;  but,  with  twice 
that  number   of   disputants,    a    preliminary   afternoon 
session  is  required.     The  freshman  and  junior  debates 
are  generally  the  most  closely  contested  of  any  ;  for  in 
the  one  case  is  offered  the  first  opportunity  a  man  has 
for  displaying   his  "  literary  abilities "    to    the    college 
public  ;  and  in  the  other  the  last  one  for  gaining  laurels 
that  may  take  him  to  a  senior  society.     The  junior  de 
bates  of  the  present  year,  however,  attracted  barely  as 
many  competitors  as  there  were  prizes  offered,  and  it 
was  at  one  time  rumored  that  they  would  be  abandoned 
for  lack  of  participants.     In  senior  year  there  is  little  to 


7  'HE  SOCIE  TY  S  YSTEM.  2  1 7 

fight  for  save  the  keeping  up  of  previously  made  repu 
tations,  unless  it  be  that  the  chances  for  class  orator- 
ship  are  sometimes  affected  by  the  result  of  this  last 
debate.  As  for  the  Sophomores,  perhaps  some  of  the 
successful  ones  of  the  year  before  do  not  care  to  run  the 
risk  of  a  second  trial,  and  some  of  the  unsuccessful  ones 
are  too  much  discouraged  to  do  so  ;  for  at  all  events 
their  debate  perhaps  creates  the  least  excitement  of  any. 
But  all  these  prize  trials  attract  great  attention,  and  are. 
during  their  progress,  the  common  talk  of  class  and  col 
lege.  Large  crowds  go  up  to  hear  the  speeches,  and 
though  different  men  "  draw  "  different  sized  audiences, 
the  attendance  upon  all  is  considerable,  and  it  is  rarely 
that  the  hall  is  entirely  deserted,  even  for  the  poorest 
speaker.  Programmes  bearing  the  names  of  the  judges, 
the  question  for  debate,  and  the  names  of  the  disputants 
in  their  order,  are  freely  circulated,  and  as  fifteen  minutes 
are  allowed  every  speaker,  it  is  possible  to  guess  very 
nearly  the  time  when  each  one  of  them  will  "come  on." 
Between  every  speech  the  doors  are  left  open  for  a 
minute  or  two,  to  allow  the  entrance  and  egress  of  spec 
tators,  but  are  kept  locked  in  the  meanwhile,  so  that  no 
speaker  need  be  interrupted.  The  president  sits  at  his 
desk  to  announce  the  speakers,  and  the  judges  are 
ranged  below  him.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  debate, 
which  often  lasts  till  nearly  midnight,  they  withdraw  for 
a  few  moments  to  compare  opinions,  and  then  announce 
their  decisions.  The  result  is  usually  received  with  loud 
applause  and  cheerings,  both  within  and  without  the 
hall,  the  prize  takers  are  congratulated  by  their  friends, 
and  the  excitement  is  ended.  Partisans  of  the  different 
class  societies  add  up  the  "  honors  "  each  one  of  them 
has  taken  in  the  persons  of  its  past,  present,  and  pros 
pective  members,  and  discuss  the  result  of  their  com 
parisons  at  the  breakfast  table  next  morning.  The 

ii 


218  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Courant  has  also  sometimes  published  the  society  con 
nections  of  the  prize  men,  in  announcing  their  names. 
It  should  be  understood  that  these  prize  debates  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  ordinary  exercises  of  the  society, 
and  the  men  who  participate  in  them  rarely  venture  at 
other  times  within  the  society  halls. 

Annual  reunions  of  their  graduates  used  to  be  held 
in  the  halls  on  the  day  before  Commencement,  when 
speeches  were  made,  old  stories  re-told,  songs  sung,  and 
an  enthusiasm  for  the  society  re-awakened.  These  ex 
ercises  were  among  the  most  prominent  and  attractive 
ones  of  the  week,  and  were  largely  attended  by  the 
undergraduate  members ;  but  with  the  decay  of  the 
societies  they  have  lessened  in  interest  and  for  a  few- 
years  past  have  been  neglected  altogether.  The  cen- 
tenial  celebration  of  Linonia  in  1853,  the  day  before 
Commencement,  was  quite  a  grand  affair.  The  literary 
exercises  consisted  of  an  oration  by  William  M.  Evarts 
of  '37  and  a  poem  by  Francis  M.  Finch  of  '49,  delivered 
in  the  North  Church,  and  attended  in  a  body  by  all  the 
assembled  alumni.  Afterwards  came  a  banquet  in 
Alumni  Hall,  then  for  the  first  time  dedicated.  "  It  had 
been  finely  decorated  for  the  occasion  by  ladies  of  New 
Haven.  Festoons  of  pink,  blue,  and  yellow — the  badges 
of  the  societies — adorned  the  walls,  with  four  shields 
enveloped  in  green,  pink,  blue  and  yellow,  as  represent 
ing  Yale,  Linonia,  Brothers  and  Calliope."  Names  and 
portraits  of  famous  ex-members,  mottoes  and  inscrip 
tions,  etc.,  were  also  displayed.  Daniel  Lord  of  '14 
acted  as  president,  and  other  big  men  helped  to  make 
the  after-dinner  speeches.  "  Much  good  feeling  and 
cordiality  prevailed,  and  Brothers  and  Linonians  made 
common  cause  in  having  a  good  time."  A  pamphlet 
containing  the  oration  and  poem,  and  a  full  account  of 
the  proceedings,  was  afterwards  issued,  as  well  as  the 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  2 1 9 

centennial  catalogue  already  referred  to,  in  commemora 
tion  of  the  event.  The  Brothers  centennial  was  cele 
brated  the  day  before  the  Commencement  of  1868.  A 
reunion  was  held  at  the  hall  in  the  forenoon ;  in  the 
afternoon  at  the  North  Church  an  oration  was  delivered 
by  Thomas  M.  Clark  of  '3 1  and  a  poem  by  Theodore 
Bacon  of  '53  ;  and  in  the  evening  came  a  "  social  recep 
tion"  at  the  Art  Building,  to  which  the  sisters  as  well  as 
the  Brothers  were  invited, — a  "collation"  ending  up  the 
solemn  festivities  of  the  day.  The  affair  xvas  in  every 
way  inferior  to  the  celebration  of  Linonia,  for  the  fifteen 
years  whic]i  had  elapsed  since  then  had  been  years  of 
decay  and  dissolution,  and  the  show  of  enthusiasum  in 
all  but  the  older  members  was  too  evidently  feigned  to 
be  effective.  The  undergraduates  took  no  interest  in 
the  exhibition,  and  what  little  trouble  a  few  of  them 
incurred  for  it  was  in  deference  to  the  faculty's  request. 

Various  reasons  have  been  offered  from  time  to  time 
to  account  for  the  dying  out  of  all  regard  for  these  once 
proud  institutions,  and  as  many  remedies  have  been 
stoutly  urged.  The  commonest  cry  of  the  past  seems 
to  have  been,  "The  class  societies  are  causing  the  ruin 
of  the  others ;  therefore,  let  the  class  societies  be  abol 
ished."  Another  and  more  reasonable  theory  has  called 
the  class  societies  a  consequence  rather  than  a  cause  of 
the  decay  of  the  general  ones.  Whatever  may  be  its 
true  explanation,  of  the  fact  itself,  that  the  general  soci 
eties  are  dead  past  all  hope  of  resurrection,  there  is  no 
longer  any  reasonable  doubt.  The  college  children  of 
this  generation  may  not  be  wiser  than  their  predecessors, 
and  their  society  system  may  not  be  a  better  one  ;  but 
their  modes  of  life  and  their  society  ideals  are  not  like 
the  old,  and  nothing  can  now  make  them  take  an  inter 
est  in  a  system  which  in  their  view  has  outlived  its  use 
fulness.  The  fraudulent  farce  of  keeping  it  up,  how- 


220  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

ever,  is  a  wastefully  expensive  one,  and  appeals  are  all  the 
while  being  made  to  the  college  authorities  to  step  in 
and  put  an  end  to  it.  Were  they  to  combine  the  two 
society  libraries  with  the  general  library  of  the  college, 
and  from  the  lighter  literature  of  the  three  sections  form 
a  special  undergraduate  department ;  turn  the  society 
halls  into  recitation  or  lecture  rooms  ;  and  dispose  of 
the  duplicate  volumes  and  other  useless  society  property, 
they  would  effect  a  saving  of  at  least  $1500  a  year,  and 
could  either  reduce  the  "society  tax"  to  $5,  or,  by  keep 
ing  it  as  at  present,  could  accomplish  much  more  for 
the  undergraduate  library  and  reading-room,-?~the  use  of 
which  is  the  only  benefit  which  nine  tenths  of  the  stu 
dents  receive  from  their  "  societies."  As  very  few  under 
graduates  now  sign  their  names  to  the  constitutions  of 
the  societies  to  which  they  are  allotted,  the  college  treas 
urer  would  in  most  cases  be  unable  to  enforce  payment 
of  the  tax,  were  it  refused  ;  and  perhaps  a  general  re 
fusal  to  pay  this  illegal  tax  will  finally  be  the  means  of 
forcing  the  authorities  into  assuming  direct  control  of 
the  property  which  is  now  so  sadly  mismanaged.  From 
a  recent  article  in  a  college  paper  is  extracted  the  fol 
lowing  summary,  which,  allowing  for  few  unimportant 
variations,  will  fairly  enough  represent  the  society  ex 
penses  for  each  and  every  year  :  "  It  appears,  from  the 
annual  reports  of  the  financial  agent  of  Linonia  and 
Brothers,  that  for  the  twelve  months  ending  May  31, 
1870,  the  college  treasurer  collected  from  the  students, 
under  the  name  of  'society  tax,'  the  sum  of  $3718.12. 
As  the  number  of  undergraduates  during  this  period 
averaged  more  than  500,  and  as  the  tax  is  $8,  it  would 
seem  that  some  fifty  or  more  made  no  payments  ;  and 
no  doubt  these  were  the  same  individuals  whose  entire 
dues  to  the  college  treasurer  were  by  authority  remitted. 
Of  this  large  sum  of  money,  $2061.09  was  expended 


THE  SOCIE  TY  S  YSTEM.  2  2 1 

upon  the  libraries.  The  salary  of  each  of  the  two 
librarians  is  $225,  and  of  each  of  the  four  assistants 
$75  ;  but  a  part  of  the  same  was  still  unpaid  when  the 
report  was  made  out,  so  that  the  salary  item  amounted 
to  but  $735.  Of  the  remaining  $1326.09,  a  great  pro 
portion  was  undoubtedly  spent  for  books,  though  exactly 
how  much  is  not  stated.  Next  in  cost  to  the  libraries, 
was  the  reading-room,  upon  which  (no  items  given) 
$967.80  was  expended.  Third  may  be  noted  the  direct 
expense  of  'running  the  societies,'  $680.64  ;  which  was 
made  up  as  follows:  debate  prizes,  $284.75;  coal, 
$106.06;  janitors'  salary,  $65  ;  fire-making  and  sweep 
ing,  $62.85;  repairs,  $43. 18  ;  gas,  $42.56;  printing, 
$41.25  ;  incidentals,  $28.24  j  and  bell-ringing,  $4.75. 
It  is  possible  that  the  expenses  for  coal  and  gas  should 
be  charged  in  part  to  the  libraries  and  reading-room  ; 
though  the  report  itself  encourages  no  such  inference. 
Fourth  and  last  are  the  salary  of  the  financial  agent, 
$100  ;  the  charge  of  the  college  treasurer  for  collecting 
the  tax,  $80  ;  the  interest  on  the  $400  debt  of  Linonia, 
$27.50  ;  and  the  insurance  of  Brothers,  $11.25  ; — a  total 
of  $218.75.  In  prize  money  Linonia  annually  distrib 
utes  $160,  and  Brothers  180  ;  but  the  total  has  been  put 
at  $284.75,  because  $55.25  of  Linonia's  money  is 
derived  from  the  *  Bishop  fund,'  and  so  does  not  enter 
into  the  account.  The  four  divisions  of  the  report  as 
above  given  foot  up  a  total  of  $3928.28  ;  and  the  excess 
of  $210.16  over  the  amount  received  for  taxes,  is  made 
up  of  the  $55.20  collected  by  the  librarians  for  fines, 
etc.,  and  the  $154.96  by  which  the  cash  brought  over 
from  the  old  year  exceeded  the  cash  carried  over  for  the 
new  one." 

A  third  society,  after  the  same  pattern,  which  lived 
out  the  time  allotted  to  a  generation  of  men,  was 
"Calliope,"  or  "the  Calliopean  Society"  as  its  members 


FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

preferred  to  call  it.  On  July  8,  1819— because  of  a 
political  fight  which  had  resulted  in  the  election  of  a 
northern  man  to  the  presidency  of  Linonia — 32  members 
of  the  three  lower  classes  withdrew  from  Linonia  and 
Brothers,  and  set  up  this  society  of  their  own,  to  which 
they  soon  attracted  37  others,  making  Calliope's  mem 
bership  in  that  first  year,  69,  or  larger  than  at  any  sub 
sequent  period.  All  the  founders  were,  with  two  excep 
tions,  Southerners,  and  to  "  the  South  "  the  society  ever 
afterwards  looked  for  its  chief  support.  It  never  elec 
tioneered  the  Freshmen,  or  sought  to  increase  its  mem 
bership  by  any  adventitious  aids.  All  who  came  from 
the  South  went  to  the  society  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Some  from  the  Middle  and  Western  States  also  joined 
it,  but  the  members  from  New  England  hardly  averaged 
one  a  year.  Its  hall  was  in  Townsend's  Block,  on  Chapel 
street,  oppose  the  college  yard.  When  Alumni  Hall 
was  built,  though  the  society  was  evidently  moribund,  it 
persisted  in  having  a  room  made  for  it  in  the  new  build 
ing,  and  the  apartment  now  known  as  Calliope  Hall 
was  the  result.  It  lies  between  the  other  two  society 
halls,  and  has  seldom  been  put  to  any  service  since  the 
disruption  of  the  society,  which  happened  before  the  new 
quarters  were  taken  possession  of.  The  society  library, 
at  the  start  in  1819,  numbered  about  400  volumes;  in 
1828,  2300;  in  1831,  2900;  in  1837,  4100;  in  1840, 
5000;  and  at  the  end  in  1852,  about  10,000.  The 
books  were  kept  in  the  apartment  between  the  Library 
proper  and  the  south  or  Linonia  wing,  and  when  Calliope 
was  dissolved  were  given  to  the  college,  which  by  the 
sale  of  them  to  the  Bridgeport  city  library  realized  $2100, 
from  which  fund  two  of  its  "general  scholarships," 
yielding  $66  a  year  are  supported.  Its  first  and  per 
haps  only  catalogue  of  members  was  an  octavo  of  32 
pages,  printed  in  1839  by  B.  L.  Hamlen.  The  names 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  223 

were  arranged  by  years  rather  than  by  classes,  and  the 
States  were  brought  into  prominence  by  being  separated 
from  the  residences.  During  its  first  twenty  years  the 
society  seems  to  have  had  in  all  about  300  regular  mem 
bers,  and  half  that  number  of  honorary  ones.  All  of 
the  latter  were  obliged  to  come  at  least  once  to  the  hall 
and  "pass  through  the  regular  form  of  initiation," — a 
thing  not  required  by  the  other  societies,  many  of  whose 
"  honorary  members  "  never  set  foot  in  New  Haven,  or 
even  in  America.  The  catalogue  was  embellished  with 
a  steel-engraved  frontispiece,  representing  the  society's 
patron  goddess — "  the  queen  of  the  sacred  nine  " — in  her 
usual  posture,  accompanied  by  another  female  figure 
bearing  a  scroll  labeled  "  Calliope,  1819."  Upon  the 
cover  was  displayed  a  six-pointed  star,  with  a  "  C  "  sup 
ported  within  its  open  hexagon.  The  letters  "  (7>  E  M," 
initials  of  the  motto,  appeared  upon  the  "  C,"  and  in  the 
lower  angle  of  the  star  was  the  date,  "1819."  This 
design  was  doubtless  a  copy  of  the  society  badge,  worn 
as  a  pendant  to  the  watch  chain.  In  the  Lit.  for  Feb 
ruary,  1853,  it  was  announced  that  the  society  had  been 
dissolved,  and  that  the  committee  appointed  to  pay  its 
debts  and  wind  up  its  affairs  would  publish  a  report  of 
their  work  in  the  next  number  of  the  magazine,  together 
with  a  statement  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  dissolu 
tion.  But  the  promised  report  and  explanation  were 
never  printed.  Still  another  "  literary  society  "  was  the 
"Phoenix,"  founded  in  1806,  chiefly  by  Thomas  S. 
Grimke,  who  graduated  the  following  year.  The  society 
does  not  seem  to  have  long  survived  his  departure,  and 
its  members  were  quickly  absorbed  by  Linonia  and 
Brothers — the  name  of  Grimke  himself  afterwards  ap 
pearing  on  the  former's  catalogue. 

•  Another  sociey  institution,  almost  as  aged  as  Linonia 
and  Brothers  but  of  quite  a  different  character,  is  the  "  Phi 


224  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

Beta  Kappa/'     According  to  Allyn's  "  Ritual  of  Freema 
sonry,"  it "  was  imported  into  this  country  from  France,  by 
Thomas  Jefferson"  ;  but  its  Yale  archives  state,  more  mod 
estly,  "that  the  Alpha  of  Virginia  was  established  at  Wil 
liam  and  Mary  College,  December  6,  1776,  by  the  volunta 
ry  association  of  a  number  of  the  students,  who  at  first 
had  no  design  of  extending  the    society   beyond  the 
limits  of  the  college.     After  a  year  or  two  a  plan  was 
concerted  to  spread  it  into  several  inferior  branches  in 
the  different  parts  of  the  state.     Still,  the  members  had 
no  idea  of  communicating  it  to  any  other  of  the  United 
States,  until  Mr.  Elisha  Parmele,  —  who  had  been  two 
years  an  undergraduate  at  Yale,  but  had  afterwards  re 
moved  to  Harvard,  and  graduated  there  in  1778,— hap 
pened  to  be  in  Virginia  in  the  fall  of  the  following  year ; 
when,  on  being  introduced  to  him,  they  determined  to 
establish  by  his  aid  two  other  grand  branches  or  Alphas, 
at  the  two  New  England  universities."    Accordingly,  on 
his  return,  he  was  entrusted  with  two  charters  for  that 
purpose,  both  bearing  date  of  December  4,   1779.     In 
the  month  of  April,  following,  he  initiated  four  men  at 
Goshen,  his  native  place ;  but  the  society  was  first  regular 
ly  organized  as  the  "Alpha  of  Connecticut"  at  New  Haven, 
November  13,  1780,  when  a  dozen  graduates  and  a  larger 
number  of  Seniors  and   Juniors  were  admitted.      The 
Alpha  of   Massachusetts  was  established  at  Harvard 
September  5,  1781.     Each  of  these  "grand  branches" 
was   given   the    sole   power   of   establishing   "  inferior 
branches"  within  its  own  State,  while  the  original  Vir 
ginia  Alpha  retained  the  right  of  introducing  the  soci 
ety  into  other  States.     The  war,  however,  soon  killed 
the  parent  tree  ;  so  in  September,  1787,  Yale  and  Har 
vard  joined  in  establishing  the  Alpha  of  New  Hamp 
shire  at  Dartmouth.     The  Alphas  subsequently  intro 
duced  into  other  States  have  perhaps  sometimes  been 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  225 

formed  simply  on  the  authority  of  one  or  both  of  these 
two  oldest  branches,  though  in  theory  all  the  Alphas 
are  obliged  to  concur  in  the  establishment  of  a  new 
one.  Once  formed,  an  Alpha  can  authorize  as  many 
additional  chapters  as  it  chooses  within  its  own  State. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  original  society  was  held  in  the 
Apollo  hall  of  the  old  Raleigh  tavern  of  Williamsburg, 
and  the  original  charter  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Vir 
ginia  Historical  Society.  In  1852,  there  were  ten  chap 
ters  in  existence,  the  seven  additional  ones,  in  the  order 
of  their  establishment,  being :  Alpha  of  New  York,  at 
Union  ;  Alpha  of  Maine,  at  Bowdoin  ;  Alpha  of  Rhode 
Island,  at ,  Brown  ;  Beta  of  Connecticut,  at  Trinity ; 
Gamma  of  Connecticut,  at  Wesleyan  ;  and  Alpha  of 
Alabama,  at  Tuscaloosa.  The  chapters  extended  since 
then  are :  Alpha  and  Beta  of  Vermont,  at  Burlington 
and  Middlebury  ;  Alpha  and  Beta  of  Ohio,  at  Western 
Reserve  and  Kenyon ;  Beta  and  Gamma  of  Massachu 
setts,  at  Amherst  and  Williams  ;  Beta  of  New  York,  at 
N.  Y.  University  ;  and  Alpha  of  New  Jersey,  at  Rutgers. 
It  is  possible  that  other  chapters  may  be  in  existence, 
but  nothing  is  known  about  the  matter  by  the  officers 
of  the  institution  at  Yale,  and  no  complete  list  of  the 
society's  branches  has  recently  been  published. 

"The  original  object  of  the  society  were  the  'promo 
tion  of  literature  and  friendly  intercourse  among  schol 
ars'  ;  and  its  name  and  motto  indicate  that  '  philosophy, 
including  therein  religion  as  well  as  ethics,  is  worthy  of 
cultivation  as  the  guide  of  life.'  "  The  name  is  simply 
the  initial  letters  of  this  motto,  <lH).o(7oyiu,  Diov  Kvpeovtj- 
rr^,  and  used  to  be  commonly  abbreviated  to  "  Phi 
Beta."  At  Yale  the  meetings  were  originally  held  fort 
nightly,  afterwards  monthly.  The  exercises  consisted 
of  an  oration  and  debate,  and  in  winter  they  commenced 
at  half-past  six  in  the  evening.  A  fine  of  sixpence  was 
n* 


226  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  penalty  for  tardiness ;  of  $10,  for  absence  ;  of  $20, 
for  flunking  an  appointment.  There  were  never  any 
eatables  provided  except  on  the  night  of  December  6, 
when  the  society's  anniversary  was  celebrated  by  a  sup 
per.  The  oration  on  that  occasion  was  delivered  by  a 
graduate,  and  the  annual  officers  were  chosen.  The 
president  was  always  a  graduate,  and  was  often  reflected, 
— Prof.  Kingsley,  for  example,  holding  the  office  for  six 
successive  years.  Afterwards,  the  annual  supper  was 
abolished  and  the  only  "bum"  was  that  of  initiation 
night,  when  with  singing,  and  story-telling,  and  eating 
and  drinking,  "  a  general  jollification  was  kept  up  till 
a  late  hour."  The  occasion  constantly  increased  in  im 
portance  and  expense,  until  in  1835  the  initiation  sup 
per  cost  $150,  which  was  judged  to  be  so  utterly  extrav 
agant,  that  the  corporation  passed  a  vote  forbidding  any 
future  celebration  of  the  sort,  as  being  a  waste  of  money. 
The  day  after  Commencement,  it  was  customary  to  hold 
an  "  exhibition,"  when  two  orations  were  delivered,  by 
tutors  or  other  graduates,  and  a  debate  was  engaged  in 
by  four  undergraduates.  As  these  exhibitions  gradually 
grew  in  interest  and  importance,  it  was  decided  to  make 
them  public,  and  in  September,  1787,  the  great  unin 
itiated,  "  assembled  in  the  brick  meeting  house,"  were 
for  the  first  time  allowed  to  listen  to  one  of  Phi  Beta's 
representative  orators.  The  next  public  oration  was 
pronounced  five  years  later,  and  in  the  42  years,  1793- 
1834,  there  were  only  12  Commencements  when  the  soci 
ety  failed  to  display  itself;  while  from  1835  onward 
there  has  been  no  break  in  its  annual  exhibitions.  Be 
fore  that  time,  there  had  been  but  seven  poems  delivered, 
of  which  only  one  had  been  printed.  Of  the  orations, 
ten  had  been  printed.  There  were  but  28  of  them,  for 
on  two  occasions  the  poet  had  been  the  only  speaker 
before  the  society.  Since  1835,  the  oration  has  been 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  227 

three  times  and  the  poem  eight  times  omitted  ;  and,  of 
those  delivered,  two  orations  and  two  poems  have  not 
been  printed. 

At  the  annual  September  meeting  of  1793,  it  was 
voted,  that  an  oration  should  each  year  be  delivered  in 
public  on  the  day  after  Commencement ;  that  on  the 
morning  of  that  day  the  society — assembled  at  the  State 
House  at  8  o'clock — should  always  choose  two  orators, 
the  first  to  speak  upon  the  following  year,  and  the  other 
to  be  ready  as  his  substitute  ;  that  the  substitute  for  one 
year  should  be  in  turn  chosen  the  orator  for  the  next ; 
and  that  the  orator  should  notify  the  president,  two 
months  before  Commencement,  of  his  intention  or  not 
to  fulfil  his  appointment  These  rules  are  in  effect  still 
adhered  to,  though  for  many  years  the  society's  anniver 
sary  has  been  the  day  before  instead  of  the  day  after 
Commencement ;  the  morning  business  meeting  has 
been  held  in  one  of  the  Lyceum  lecture  rooms  ;  and  the 
oration  and  poem  have  been  delivered  in  the  evening  at 
one  of  the  churches  on  the  green.  But  the  orator  and 
poet  and  their  substitutes  are  still  chosen  for  one  year 
in  advance,  and  the  substitutes  are  duly  promoted  to 
the  first  places,  so  that  in  effect  each  man  appointed  has 
two  years  to  prepare  himself.  Perhaps  three-fourths  of 
the  persons  selected  to  speak  before  the  society,  have 
been  regular  members  of  it  at  Yale, — the  others  being 
regular  or  honorary  members  of  other  branches  or  hon 
orary  members  of  the  Yale  branch.  Doolittle's  Hall — 
in  the  old  building  on  College  street,  near  the  corner  of 
Elm,  which  was  torn  down  to  give  place  to  the  new 
Divinity  College — used  to  be,  in  the  old  times,  the  only 
public  hall  which  the  city  possessed,  and  Phi  Beta 
Kappa,  as  well  as  Linonia  and  Brothers,  used  to  hold 
its  ordinary  meetings  there.  Originally,  the  hall 
was  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  Freemasons ;  and 


228  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

of  course  the  different  college  societies  which  met 
there  rented  it  on  different  evenings.  In  1825,  or 
shortly  afterwards,  a  clamor  against  Masonry  and  secret 
societies  generally,  which  swept  over  the  country,  seems 
to  have  resulted  in  the  removal  of  its  secret  character 
from  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  both  at  Yale  and  in  other  col 
leges.  With  its  mystery  departed  its  activity  also  ;  and 
for  forty  years  past  it  has  been  simply  a  "  society  insti 
tution"  possessed  of  but  little  more  life  than  it  claims 
to-day,  though  membership  in  it  was  thought  an  honor 
worth  striving  for  until  quite  a  recent  period.  High 
scholarship  was  always  as  now  the  prime  qualification 
which  recommended  a  man  for  election,  and,  also  as 
now,  about  a  third  of  each  senior  class  were  annually 
elected.  The  bulk  of  the  elections  were  given  out  to 
the  Juniors  during  the  third  term,  and  the  regular  initia 
tion  was  held  then,  but  there  seems  to  have  been  occa 
sional  class  elections  subsequently  given  out  in  senior 
year.  Personal  prejudice  sometimes  kept  a  few  high- 
stand  men  out,  and  personal  favoritism  sometimes 
brought  a  few  low-stand  men  in,  but,  in  general,  scholar 
ship  alone  decided  the  matter, — the  society  confining 
its  elections  pretty  closely  to  the  list  recommended  it  by 
the  faculty,  in  response  to  its  own  application  therefor. 
Elections  were  nominally  unanimous,  but  each  one  who 
cast  a  black-ball  was  obliged  to  avow  the  reasons  which 
influenced  him  in  doing  so,  and  the  single  "No"  was 
always  expected  to  be  withdrawn,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
For  fifty  years  and  more,  admission  to  the  society  was 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  honors  of  the  college, 
and  was  the  object  in  view  of  which  the  hardest  exer 
tions  of  the  first  three  years  were  put  forth.  Its  key,  in 
fact,  seems  to  have  been  thought  about  as  desirable  as 
a  senior-society  pin  is  now-a-days,  and  to  have  been  as 
generally  recognized  in  the  college  world  as  a  badge  of 
exceptional  honor  and  distinction. 


THE  SO  CIE  TY  S  YS  TEM.  229 

"  This  society,"  say  its  oldest  archives,  "  continued  to 
increase  and  become  more  and  more  respectable  in  the 
view  of  the  students  of  college.      The  younger  classes 
were  sensibly  ambitious  of  recommending  themselves  to 
the  society  by  regular  behavior  and  uncommon  exertions 
of  scholarship.     At  the  same  time,  the  candidate  in  the 
successive  senior  classes  who  finally  failed  of  the  honor 
of  an  election,  were  mortified  and  irritated  by  disap 
pointment.     Under  the  united  influence  of  envy,  resent 
ment  and  curiosity,  Hugo  Burghardt,  Nathan  Stiles  and 
Richard  McCurdy,  three    Seniors,  combined  together, 
and  on  the  evening  of  December  19,  1786,  broke  open 
the  secretary's  door,  in  his  absence,  entered  his  study, 
and  feloniously  took,  stole,  and  carried  away  the  socie 
ty's  trunk,  with  all  its  contents.     They,  however,  by  no 
means  satisfied  their  expectations  of  learning  the  mys 
teries  of  the  society  and  of  the  institution,  as  there  was 
no  written  explanation  of  them  in  the  archives ;    and 
fortunately  they  were  detected  before  they  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  divulging  their  discovery.     Upon  their  detec 
tion,  they  restored  the  papers  as  they  found  them,  paid 
for  the  damage  done  the  trunk,  appeared  in  the  presence 
of  the  society  assembled  in  a  general  meeting,  volunta 
rily  made  a  written  confession,  which  is  still  lodged  in 
the  trunk,  and  bound   themselves  by  a  solemn  oath  to 
confine  within  their  own  breasts  all  the   knowledge  of 
the  secrets  of  the  society  which  they  had  so  criminally 
obtained  by  violating  the  sacred  security  of  locks  and 
keys.     In  compassion  to    them   and   their  friends,  the 
society  generously  pardoned  them  and  engaged  to  con 
ceal  their  names  from  the  world.     An  attested  copy  of 
their  confession  and  oath  was  entered  on  record  and  also 
transmitted   to  Cambridge.     Thus   tranquillity  was  re 
stored,  and  the  affairs  of  the  society  proceeded  with 
out  interruption  until  on  or  about  July  20,  1787,  when 


230  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  trunk  was  unlocked  in  a  clandestine  manner,  and 
the  secretary's  and  register's  books  were  again  stolen ; 
though  the  latter  was  soon  found.  No  discovery  was 
made  of  the  perpetrators  of  this  second  burglary,  nor 
has  there  since  appeared  any  publication  of  the  contents 
of  the  book  of  records." 

The  badge  of  the  society  is  a  flat  rectangular  watch- 
key  of  gold,  across  the  central  portion  of  which  are  en 
graved  the  letters  "  </>  B  K  "  /  and  upon  the  right  lower 
corner,  a  right  hand,  with  the  index  finger  pointing 
diagonally  across  to  several  stars  in  the  left  upper  cor 
ner.  The  number  of  these  stars  seems  for  some  time 
to  have  been  made  to  correspond  to  the  whole  number 
of  chapters,  for  there  were  five  of  them  upon  the  key  of 
thirty  years  ago.  As  the  number  of  chapters  became 
too  extensive  for  representation,  only  as  many  stars 
were  expressed  as  there  were  chapters  in  the  State ;  and 
hence  there  are  now  three  of  them  upon  the  Yale  key. 
Another  explanation  is  that  they  are  intended  to  corres 
pond  with  the  number  of  Alphas.  The  flat  portion  of 
the  key,  which  is  almost  a  square,  measures  an  inch 
upon  its  longest  side.  In  all  the  colleges  the  badge  has 
never  varied,  save  in  the  number  of  stars,  from  that  in 
stituted  at  William  and  Mary  in  1776.  According  to 
Allyn's  "  Ritual,"  it  was  "  a  medal  of  gold  or  silver, 
sometimes  worn  on  the  bosom,  suspended  by  blue  or 
pmk  ribbon,  but  more  commonly  as  a  watch  key.  Upon 
its  back  was  engraved,  "  S.  P.  Dec.  6,  1776,"— the  initials 
signifying,  *  Societas  Philosophic"  "The  sign  is  given 
by  placing  the  two  forefingers  of  the  right  hand  so  as  to 
cover  the  left  corner  of  the  mouth  ;  draw  them  across 
the  chin."  "  The  grip  is  like  the  common  shaking  of 
hands,  only  not  interlocking  the  thumbs,  and  at  the 
same  time  gently  pressing  the  wrist."  At  Yale  and 
other  colleges,  the  lists  of  members  which  are  occasion- 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  231 

ally  published  are  sometimes  headed  by  a  wood-cut  seal, 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  consisting  simply  of  the 
name  of  the  chapter — "  Alpha  of  Connecticut,"  for  ex 
ample —  in  a  double  circle  within  which  appear  the 
emblems  of  the  key.  The  constitution  of  the  society 
required  every  member  to  wear  the  badge,  but  only  about 
a  third  of  them  did  so,  fifty  years  ago,  when  their  soci 
ety  was  a  living,  wide-awake  affair ;  and,  now,  as  for  a 
dozen  years  or  more  past,  the  sight  of  a  Phi  Beta  key 
would  raise  a  cry  of  derision.  The  last  Yale  Senior 
who  once  or  twice  ventured  to  expose  such  a  thing  to 
the  gaze  of  the  populace  belonged  to  the  class  of  '67. 

This  was  also  the  last  class  for  whose  initiation  a 
special  meeting  was  held.  Since  1850  or  before,  elec 
tions  to  the  society  have  been  entirely  a  matter  of  form. 
The  faculty's  record  of  scholarship  alone  decides  the 
matter,  and  in  accordance  with  this  about  a  third  of  the 
junior  class,  comprising  all  the  appointment-men  save 
the  lowest,  were  each  year  requested,  by  printed  notice, 
to  present  themselves  at  one  of  the  Lyceum  lecture 
rooms,  on  the  Wednesday  evening  preceeding  Presenta 
tion  Day,  for  the  purpose  of  being  initiated  into  Phi 
Beta  Kappa.  Here  they  were  met  by  one  or  more  of 
the  graduate  officers  of  the  affair,  and  the  significance 
of  the  society,  and  of  their  election  to  it,  was  formally 
explained  to  them.  While  awaiting  the  arrival  of  these 
officers  the  society  was  wont  to  take  up  a  collection  and 
institute  an  impromptu  "  peanut  bum."  The  two  or 
three  of  their  number  who  were  entrusted  with  the 
money,  having  purchased  a  bushel  or  so  of  peanuts  at 
the  nearest  fruit  store,  would  on  their  return  be  pur 
sued  by  a  ravenous  crowd  of  their  non-elected  class 
mates,  even  to  the  very  door  of  the  lecture  room,  and 
sometimes  be  obliged  to  surrender  a  part  of  their  booty. 
After  the  meeting,  with  its  "bum,"  was  over,  the  newly 


232  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

initiated  were  very  liberal  in  the  distribution  of  peanuts 
among  the  non-elect,  or  were  beset  by  the  latter  and 
compelled  by  force  to  disgorge  the  remnants  of  their 
feast.  Sometimes,  also,  the  new  members  marched  in 
procession  about  the  college  buildings, — having  fastened 
to  their  watch-chains,  as  burlesques  on  the  authorized 
badges,  the  large  pasteboard  rectangles  used  in  recita 
tion  for  the  demonstration  of  mathematical  propositions, 
— shouting  "  Phi,  ai,  ai  !  Phi  Beta  Kappa!"  which  was 
a  sort  of  cheer  or  rallying  cry  in  the  palmy  days  of  the 
society.  The  bell  which  called  their  meetings  together 
used  also  to  be  rung  in  a  peculiar,  jerky  fashion,  to 
imitate  as  nearly  as  possible  this  society  shout.  In  the 
class  of  '58,  for  some  unknown  reason,  only  three  men 
accepted  elections  to  Phi  Beta. 

Besides  this  meeting,  there  were  the  Deccember 
aniversary  for  the  election  of  officers,  and  the  meet 
ing  at  Commencement  time  for  the  choice  of  orator  and 
poet.  The  latter  is  the  only  one  now  held.  For  a  dozen 
years  past,  the  general  officers  have  been  chosen  at  that 
time,  and  begining  with  '68,  the  "  active  members'''  have 
been  "  elected"  then.  Printed  notifications  of  the  time 
and  place  of  meeting  are  posted  upon  the  trees  in  the 
college  yard.  At  the  appointed  hour,  a  sprinkling  of 
graduates  and  two  or  three  undergraduates  assemble. 
A  president  for  the  next  year  is  chosen  in  the  person  of 
some  graduate,  usually  a  non-resident  of  New  Haven, 
who  may  or  may  not  be  present ;  then  the  vice  presi 
dent  (Prof.  A.  C.  Twining  of  '20)  secretary  (Prof.  D. 
C.  Oilman  of  '52),  and  treasurer  (Prof.  H.  A.  Newton 
of  '50),  are  reflected ;  and  the  remaining  two  officers — 
recording  secretary  and  assistant  treasurer  —  are  ap 
pointed  from  among  the  "  active  members."  The  names 
of  the  first  30  or  40  persons  upon  the  faculty's  appoint 
ment  list  are  read  off  and  they  are  "  unanimously  elected" 


THE  SOCIETY  SYSTEM.  233 

ed"  to  the  society.  They  form  the  "  active  members" 
for  the  following  year,  without  further  ceremony,  and 
their  most  active  duty  resulting  is  to  laugh  when  they 
see  their  names  in  the  society's  printed  list.  The  sub 
stitute  orator  and  poet  having  been  chosen  orator  and 
poet,  and  new  substitutes  having  been  chosen  in  their 
places,  perhaps  a  few  honorary  members  are  elected. 
Then  the  official  reports  are  read  and  accepted,  finan 
cial  and  other  resolutions  are  adopted,  and  the"  society" 
disbands,  to  be  resurrected  and  go  through  the  same 
galvanic  formalities  at  the  close  of  another  year.  In 
its  early  days,  an  initiation  fee  of  $10  was  demanded  ; 
but  this  was  abolished  long  ago,  and  the  society  ex 
penses  have  to  be  met  by  subscription,  and  most  of  them 
doubtless  fall  upon  the  college  professors  who  are  its  offi 
cers.  At  all  events,  it  is  supposed  that  they  alternate 
with  one  another  in  making  up  the  annual  deficit  caused 
by  the  printing  of  the  oration  and  poem.  At  last  year's 
Commencement  meeting  a  committee  of  five  old  mem 
bers  was  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  expediency  of 
rejuvenating  the  society  or  abandoning  it  altogether. 
No  substitute  orator  and  poet  were  elected  for  the  Com 
mencement  of  1872,  and  it  is  therefore  possible  that 
this  year's  will  be  the  last  appearance  of  Phi  Beta  at 
Yale. 

A  sixteen-page  catalogue,  printed  by  "Oliver  Steele  & 
Co.  in  April,  1808,  was  perhaps  the  first  one  published. 
It  contained  about  400  names,  all  arranged  in  one  alpha 
betical  list,  with  their  "  places  of  abode,"  "  college  titles" 
["  Senr.,"  "Junr.,"  or  "A.  B."],  and  "times  of  admis 
sion"  annexed.  The  last  catalogue  —  of  50  octavo 
pages,  printed  by  B.  L.  Hamlen — was  issued  in  1852. 
In  this  the  names  of  the  members  were  given  by  classes, 
together  with  both  "original  and  present  residences," 
honorary  titles,  etc.  Special  lists  of  the  "honorary 


2 34  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

members,  not  graduates  of  Yale  College,"  comprising 
but  forty  names ;  of  the  presidents  ;  and  of  the  orators 
and  poets,  were  also  included.  An  index  to  the  1700 
individuals  mentioned  succeeded  the  whole.  Each  sep 
arate  chapter  of  the  fraternity  has  doubtless  published 
similar  lists,  but  no  general  catalogue  of  the  members 
of  all  the  chapters  has  ever  been  issued.  With  each 
branch  showing  signs  of  life  but  one  day  out  of  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  there  can  of  course  be  no 
tangible  tie  between  them,  and  any  general  work  in  the 
name  of  the  whole  fraternity  is  clearly  out  of  the  ques 
tion. 

The  history  of  the  chapters  elsewhere  has  been  es 
sentially  the  same  as  at  Yale,  save  that  the  younger 
ones  have  never  known  any  active  life,  but  have  been 
form  the  outset  simply  society  institutions.  Character 
istics  common  to  all  the  chapters  are :  the  delivery  of 
an  oration  and  poem  in  public,  at  Commencement  time, 
and  the  holding  of  a  business  meeting  in  private,  when 
the  officers  and  members  for  the  ensuing  year  are  chosen 
of  whom  the  former  are  graduates  and  the  latter  the 
best  scholars  of  the  incoming  senior  class.  In  short, 
"  Phi  Beta  Kappa"  is,  always  and  everywhere,  a  mere 
official  compliment  paid  by  the  faculty  to  high  scholar 
ship.  Its  key,  or  the  right  to  wear  it.  is  simply  a  medal, 
or  "  reward  of  merit,"  certifying  that  the  owner  ranks 
with  the  first  third  of  his  class.  This  fiction,  myth,  ab 
straction,  pious  fraud,  or  what  not  ,is  naturally  the  object 
of  much  merriment  at  Yale.  References  are  often  made 
to  its  profound  secrecy,  to  the  wire  pulling  and  election 
eering  resorted  to  in  choosing  its  officers,  to  favorite- 
ism  and  unworthy  personal  prejudices  shown  in  con 
ferring  its  elections,  to  the  hilarious  joviality  and  boister 
ous  uproar  attendant  upon  its  weekly  gatherings,  to  the 
low  and  disreputable  character  of  its  members,  who  are 


THE  SO  CIE  TV  S  YS  TEM.  235 

u  in  constant  danger  of  being  dropped  from  the  class 
through  excessive  attention  to  their  society  duties," — and 
so  on.  Such  are  the  sarcastic  and  derisive  utterances  now 
heard  in  regard  to  that  venerable  fraternity  which,  almost 
a  century  ago,  started  out  upon  its  mission  of  inculcating 
the  doctrine  that  "  Philosophy  is  the  guide  of  life." 

Youngest  of  the  society  institutions  is  "  Chi  Delta 
Theta,"  established  in  1821.  Prof.  James  L.  Kingsley  was 
its  founder  and  perpetual  president.  Its  object  was  to 
compliment  and  encourage  literary  as  distinguished 
from  scholastic  ability.  About  a  fourth  of  the  senior 
class,  including  all  the  "  good  writers,"  were  annually 
elected  to  it,  and  met  fortnightly,  in  one  of  the  Lyceum 
lecture  rooms, — Tuesday  evening  at  eight  o'clock  being 
the  time  of  assembling.  Sometimes  the  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  the  president.  The  exercises  con 
sisted  of  the  reading  of  essays — one,  two,  three  or  more  in 
number — and  the  subsequent  discussion  of  them.  Classi 
cal  literature  was  at  one  time  especially  affected,  and  a 
select  classical  library  was  formed,  which  numbered  about 
i  oo  volumes  when  the  society  dissolved  and  was  then 
given  to  the  college.  All  the  books  were  from  choice 
or  rare  editions.  In  Phi  Beta,  there  were  no  writ 
ten  essays  presented,  but  all  the  literary  performances 
were  in  the  form  of  debates,  orations,  etc.,  orally  deliv 
ered  ;  while  in  Linonia  and  Brothers,  the  two  methods 
characteristic  of  both  the  societies  were  in  vogue.  Chi 
Delta  and  Phi  Beta  were  neither  rivals  of  each  other 
nor  of  the  general  societies.  Seniors  might  belong  to 
all  three  of  them,  and'  it  was  of  course  thought  an  es 
pecial  honor  to  be  able  to  swing  both  the  senior-society 
badges.  At  the  time  of  Junior  Exhibition,  that  of  Chi 
Delta  was  very  prominently  displayed  by  .the  appoint 
ment-men  who  had  just  gained  it, — for  the  elections  seem 
to  have  been  given  out  at  that  early  period  in  the  year. 


236  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  badge  was  in  the  form  of  a  gold  "z/,'?  or  triangle, 
with  sides  an  inch  in  length,  upon  the  lower  one  of  which 
was  engraved  "  XJ  0  182 1  ;"  and  was  usually  hang  as  a 
pendent  to  the  watch  chain,  though  sometimes  attached 
to  the  vest  as  a  pin.  The  officers  were  chosen  annually, 
and  the  founder  of  the  society  was  always  reflected  presi 
dent.    Chi  Delta  died  out  in  the  clan  of '43  or  '44,  having 
had  only  a  nominal,  or  honorary  existence— like  that  of 
Phi  Beta  at  the  present  time— in  several  preceding  classes. 
No  catalogue  of  the  members  seems  ever  to  have  been 
published.     It  naturally  happened   that  the  editors  of 
the  Lit.  were  always  elected  to  it,  and  in  1868,  at;  the 
suggestion  of  one  of  them,  it  was  decided  to  revive*  the 
old  society,  by  making  it  an  institution  connected  with 
the   magazine.     The  '68  editors   were  accordingly  initi 
ated  as  members  of  Chi  Delta  Theta,  and  pledged  to 
turn  over  "  the  society  "  to  the  five  elected  to  succeed 
them  in  the  management  of  the  Lit.     A  similar  trans 
fer  has  been  made  by  subsequent  editors,  and  the  society 
in  its  present  form  seems  as  certain  of  long  life  as  "the 
oldest  college  periodical  "  itself.     Since  the  editors  are 
supposed  to  be  the  "  five  best  literary  men"  of  every 
senior  class,  the   name    and   mantle  of  the  old    society 
may  be  appropriately  left  in  their  keeping.      The   tri 
angle  is  now  worn,  in  the  place  of  a  watch  chain,  simply 
as  a  badge  of  the  editorial  office.     Upon  the  reverse  are 
graved,"  Yak  Lit.  1836,"  and   the  name   and   class  of 
the  owner. 


PART   SECOND. 
THE    STUDENT    LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

F  R  E  S  H  M  A  N     Y  E  A  R . 

Board  and  Lodging— Eating  Clubs— Their  Formation  and  Charac 
teristics — Names,  Mottoes  and  Devices — The  College  Club  or 
Commons — The  Old  Commons  Hall  System— The  Old  Buttery 
— Smoking  Out— Stealing — Hazing  —  Put  Out  That  Light!  — 
Rushing— The  Foot-Ball  Game— The  Painting  Disgrace— Gate 
Lifting  —  Lamp  Smashing  —  Thanksgiving  Jubilee  —  As  it  was 
Known  to  '69 — Its  Previous  Origin  and  Growth — Interference  of 
the  Faculty — The  Last  Jubilee— Its  Character  in  the  Future— 
Pow-wow — The  Annual  Dinner,  and  its  Predecessor,  the  Bien 
nial  Jubilee — The  Freshman  Laws  of  the  Last  Century— The 
Old  Manner  of  Lecturing. 

On  the  same  printed  form  which  certifies  that  the 
candidate  has  been  "  admitted  on  probation  a  member 
of  the  freshman  class"  is  a  notification  of  the  tutor  to 
whom  he  is  to  apply  if  he  desires  a  room  in  the  college 
buildings.  As  none  but  indigent  Freshmen  ever  occupy 
these  rooms,  which  are  poor  in  quality  and  few  in  num 
ber,  the  newly-admitted  probably  leaves  this  official 
alone,  and  starts  off  in  quest  of  a  room  in  some  private 
house  of  the  city,  since  college  law  forbids  him  either 
to  lodge  or  board  at  a  public  hotel.  According  to  the 
locality,  size,  equipment  of  the  room  or  rooms,  and  the 
fact  of  his  occupying  it  or  them  alone  or  with  a  chum, 


238  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  Freshman  agrees  to  pay  a  rent  of  from  $1.50  to  $5 
a  week,  though  the  ordinary  price  of  course  lies  between 
these  two  extremes.     "  Fire"  and  "  light"  and  "  washing" 
are  always  "extra,"  and  a  stove  is  never  included  with 
the  other  furniture.     Towels,  too,  the  lodger  is  expected 
to  supply  for  himself.     If  a  house  is  supplied  with  fur 
nace  heat  and  gas,  the  "  roomer"  is  charged  a  dollar  for 
the  former  and  a  half  dollar  for  the  latter,  per  week.     It 
will  usually  cost  him  about  as  much  if  he  has  a  stove  of 
his   own, — aside  from   the   trouble  of  attending   to    it, 
which  he  must  do  himself,— but  he  can  furnish  his  own 
"light"  at  half  the  indicated  expense.     His  "washing" 
costs  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  cents  per  dozen  pieces, 
and  is  either  done  at  the   house,  or  by  private  washer 
women  who  call   for  and  deliver  his  clothing,  or  by  the 
public  laundries.      If  the   entrance  door  of  the   house 
where  he  rooms  is  usually  closed,  the  lodger  is  supplied 
with  a  latch-key,  which  will  admit  him  at  all  times,  and 
he  commonly  leaves  the  door  of  his  own  room  unlocked 
in  his  absence  ;  but  if  the  entrance  door  is  always  open, 
as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  in  a  house  where  there  are  many 
lodgers,  he  is  careful  to  lock  up  his  own  room  when  he 
departs  therefrom.     He  does  not,  save  in  exceptional 
cases,  "  board,"   that  is,  take  .his   meals,  in   the   same 
house  where  he  "rooms."     "Eating  clubs,"  especially 
in  freshman  year,  are  the  approved   mediums  through 
which  he  obtains  his  food. 

A  "  club"  is  in  theory  a  cooperative  affair,  whose 
members  "  pay  only  for  what  they  have,"  and  "  have  just 
what  they  want,"  and  whose  steward  obeys  their  orders 
in  supplying  the  provender,  and  receives  simply  his  own 
board  in  consideration  of  his  trouble.  Such  a  thing 
may  sometime  have  existed,  but  for  some  years  past  it 
has  been  an  abstraction  merely.  The  real  club  is  more 
a  thing  of  this  sort  :  The  steward,  usually  a  poor  man, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  239 

engages  some  woman,  accustomed  to  the  business,  to 
supply  a  dining  room,  dishes,  table  furniture  and  wait 
ers,  and  do  the  cooking  for  his  proposed  club.  For  this, 
he  agrees  to  pay  her  a  certain  piftce  per  plate, — not  in 
cluding  his  own,  which  is  free, — and  engages  that  the 
club  shall  be  above  a  certain  minimum  number  as  to 
size.  He  has  probably  secured  beforehand  the  requisite 
number  of  classmates  as  members,  or,  if  not,  he  soon 
gets  them  together,  and  the  club  is  formed.  A  steward 
has  little  difficulty  in  making  up  a  crowd  among  Fresh 
men,  who  are  unacquainted  with  one  another,  and  so 
without  likes  or  dislikes.  Those  who  have  been 
acquaintances  at  a  large  preparatory  school,  however, 
sometimes  join  together  in  a  club,  or  form  a  nucleus  for 
one,  when  first  they  come  to  college.  The  steward  gen 
erally  attracts  his  men  by  suggesting  a  basis  of  "  about" 
so  many  dollars  per  week  ;  giving  them  to  understand 
that  this  may  vary  according  to  their  orders  ;  and  that 
his  own  board  is  the  only  compensation  which  he  him 
self  is  to  receive  for  his  trouble.  Meanwhile  he  agrees, 
in  consideration  of  a  certain  percentage  paid  to  himself 
by  the  latter,  to  order  from  a  single  market-man  every 
thing  which  the  club  requires,  and  the  trader  looks  to 
him  alone  for  payment  of  the  supplies  which  he  fur 
nishes.  The  steward  occupies  the  "  head  of  the  table," 
does  the  carving  whenever  necessary,  and  gives  his 
orders  to  the  market-man  each  day  for  the  provisions 
needed  the  day  following, — consulting  in  doing  this  the 
expressed  wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  club,  and  warn 
ing  them  when  their  demands  are  bringing  up  the  price 
of  board  above  the  estimated  amount.  At  the  close  of 
the  term  he  divides  the  amount  of  the  provision  bill  by 
the  number  of  members,  and  adding  to  this  quotient 
the  sum  due  from  each  one  for  table  service  and  cookery, 
announces  the  result  as  the  price  of  board  for  the  term, 


240  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

which  price  is  pretty  certain  to  be  in  excess  of  the  esti 
mate  on  which  the  club  was  based.  After  collecting  his 
board  bills  and  paying  his  cook  and  market-man — from 
whom  he  receives  back  the  percentage  agreed  upon — 
his  work  for  the  term  is  over.  Very  likely  the  club 
breaks  up  ;  or  perhaps  it  may  go  on  for  another  term 
under  the  same  auspices.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  this 
arrangement  everything  depends  upon  the  integrity  and 
shrewdness  of  the  steward  and  the  woman  whom  he  em 
ployes.  The  latter  has  the  chance  to  appropriate  as 
many  *f  the  club's  stores  as  she  may  need,  either  to 
board  her  own  family  or  to  use  for  other  purposes,  and 
the  former  can  put  the  figures  of  the  provision  bill  almost 
as  high  as  he  chooses, — without  there  being  in  either 
case  any  sensible  chance  of  discovery.  For  these  rea 
sons  the  plan  is  not  a  popular  one,  after  men  have  found 
out  its  defects  ;  and  they  are  apt  to  demand  that  a 
steward  shall  leave  out  the  "  about"  in  his  proposals,  and 
agree  to  board  them  at  a  certain  fixed  rate  per  week. 
If  he  does  this,  the  peculations  of  the  cook  of  course 
tell  against  himself  simply  instead  of  the  club  as  a 
whole,  and  his  only  way  to  make  himself  good  is  to  sup 
ply  cheaper  food,  which  of  course  raises  an  outcry  from 
his  comrades.  Still  another  way  in  which  a  poor  man 
may  earn  his  own  support  is  this  :  he  offers  some  woman, 
in  want  of  boarders  at  a  certain  price  per  week,  to  sup 
ply  enough  men  for  a  table,  a  dozen  being  commonly 
the  minimum  number,  to  serve  at  the  head  of  the  table 
as  carver,  and  perhaps  to  collect  the  board  bills  when 
due,  as  well  as  to  act  as  a  general  go-between,  in  com 
municating  the  wishes  of  the  boarders  to  their  hostess, 
and  the  reverse.  For  these  services  he  receives  his 
own  board  without  payment.  In  the  fourth  and  last 
variety  of  eating  club,  there  is  no  steward  or  head-man 
of  any  sort.  The  members  of  it  simply  agree  to  pay  a 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  2  4 1 

certain  price  for  board,  and  are  as  individuals  directly 
responsible  to  their  hostess. 

The  essential  thing  in  a  club,  which,  in  all  its  forms, 
plainly  distinguishes  it  from  a  boarding  house,  is  this, 
that  its  members  "  make  up  their  own  crowd,"  and  alone 
decide  who  shall  be  admitted  to  their  number.  A  club 
once  formed,  neither  the  hostess  nor  the  steward  can 
secure  the  admission  of  a  new  member  without  the  con 
sent  of  the  others.  A  club,  too,  adopts  its  own  rules  of 
table  etiquette,  and  pays  only  such  regard  to  the  con 
ventionalities  as  seems  to  it  good, — no  woman  or  other 
person  of  authority  ever  having  a  place  at  its  table. 
Men  in  clubs,  as  everywhere  else,  are  certain  to  be  dis 
satisfied  either  with  the  quality  of  their  food  or  the 
price  at  which  it  is  afforded,  and  changes  are  continually 
going  on.  New  clubs  are  started  and  old  ones  reorgan 
ized  at  the  beginning  of  each  year,  and  in  fact  nearly 
every  term.  Before  the  close  of  freshman  year  the 
"  popular  men"  of  the  class  are  pretty  certain  to  drift 
into  a  club  together,  which  is  nearly  as  certain  to  go  to 
pieces  before  the  close  of  the  year  which  follows.  In 
junior  year,  may  be,  each  society  is  represented  by  its 
eating  club,  which  perhaps  had  its  beginning  among  its 
pledged  representatives  in  the  year  before,  when  a  neu 
tral  Sophomore  who  could  get  elected  to  the  Psi  U  or 
DKE  club  would  think  his  chances  good  for  an  election 
to  the  societies  themselves  :  generally,  with  reason. 
Senior-society  clubs  are  not  very  feasible,  since  to  make 
up  a  table  would  require  the  presence  of  about  every 
member,  a  thing  which  pecuniary  and  others  differences 
would  render  all  but  impossible.  The  Coffin  society  of 
'69,  however,  took  their  meals  together.  Of  late  years, 
too,  Seniors  are  getting  much  into  the  way  of  boarding 
at  hotels,  in  defiance  of  the  absurd  rule  which  forbids 
any  undergraduate  so  to  do. 

12 


242  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Some  clubs  are  exceptionally  long-lived.  The  "  Pie 
Club"  of  '68,  for  example,  which  began  with  the  third 
term  of  the  first  year,  lasted  through  the  course,  and 
one  in  the  class  before  it  was  nearly  as  aged  ;  but  such 
instances  are  not  numerous.  It  was  in  1854  that  a  club 
—the  "  Hyenas" — first  set  a  precedent,  by  publishing  in 
the  Banner  a  list  of  its  members,  beneath  a  wood-cut 
device.  This  practice  has  greatly  varied  in  popularity. 
Ten  years  ago,  nearly  all  the  clubs  of  college  engaged 
in  it.  Four  years  ago  it  seemed  likely  to  be  abandoned 
by  all  but  the  Freshmen.  More  recently,  it  has  regained 
some  recognition  among  the  upper  classes,  though  the 
Seniors  are  content  simply  to  print  their  names,  without 
device  of  any  sort.  The  freshman  clubs  are  naturally 
its  best  supporters,  and  they  apparently  labor  to  confer 
upon  themselves  as  absurd  titles  as  possible,  in  which 
they  are  more  successful  than  in  their  attempts  at  witty 
mottoes,  which  are  usually  far-fetched  and  silly.  Among 
the  earlier  clubs  which  figured  in  the  Banner  were  the 
"  Vultures,"  "  Tigers,"  "  Harpies,"  "  Ostriches,"  "  Ana 
condas,"  and  "  Crocodiles"  ;  the  steward  of  the  first 
being  called  "  Oecumenical,"  of  the  second,  "  Tigridum 
Curator,"  of  the  third,  "  Obsonator  Harpyiis,"  and  of  the 
fourth,  "  Struthamelactor"  and  "  Superintendent  of  the 
Des(s)ert."  There  were  the  "  Dyspeptics,"  four  of  whom 
were  represented  as  dragging  some  meat  from  a  hungry 
dog  ;  the  "  Skel-e(a)t-ons,"  who  were  "  Membra"  and 
whose  steward  was  the  "  Dissector"  ;  the  "  Knicker 
bockers"  [both  these  clubs  attained  considerable  age]  ; 
the  "  Ruskins"  ;  the  "Gastronomers";  the  "  Ccena-tors"; 
the  "  Frolicksome  Oysters  "  ;  the  "  Beavers  "  :  the 
"  Munch(ch)aw-sens  "  ;  the  "  FAiphagonians  "  ;  the 
"  Musk-Eaters,"  whose  steward  was  the  "  Gallinipper," 
and  whose  device  represented  a  dozen  musquitoes 
seated  at  table.  Of  course  there  have  been  the  inevita- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  243 

ble  "  Eta  Pi"  clubs  in  all  their  variations ;  likewise  the 
"  Ace"  and  the  "  King"  of  clubs  ;  likewise  all  manner  of 
"  Greek"  titles,  like  01  Bfjy-yteQSt  01  /l$fc@?,  01  2rvcp- 
dyoi,  01  racznipdnyoi,  Ol  Ilavzoqayot,  01  'OJUyoyqpttyoi,  01 

'Jn7tocfd"/oi,  Ol  'Ofiorodn^oi,  01  'Oornacfuyoi,  and  Ol 
'^rn'tfxo/,  where  a  man  named  Lamb  was  steward.  An 
other  motto  of  the  latter  club  was  "Agno  vivimus." 
The  "  Pinesthians,"  the  "  Epicureans,"  the  "  Choke 
A-e(ters),  whose  steward  was  the  "  Choker,"  the  "  Ku- 
kluxes,"  the  ".Fowl  Fiends,"  the  "  Gobble-ins,"  the 
"  Cherubs,"  the  "  Merry  Eaters/'  the  "  Hard  Cases," 
Case  being  the  steward's  name,"  the  "  Peacemakers," 
the  "  Lickapillies,"  the  "  Tasters,"  les  "  Miserables,"  les 
"  Bon  Vivants,"  die  "  Junggesellen,"  are  among  the 
more  recent  "eaters."  The  "Pick  Quick,"  "Sans 
Souci,"  "  Help  (M)eat,"  "  Hung(a)ry,"  and  "  Farewell" 
clubs  were  also  recently  existing.  Other  club  names, 
past  or  present,  are:  "The  Rect-ory,"  "Chou  Chou," 
"  Merchants'  Union,"  "  Water  Club,"  "  Ours,"  "  House 
of  Lords,"  as.  distinguished  from  the  "Commons"  or 
college  club,  and  "  Knights  of  the  Knife  and  Fork." 
The  "  *  Cher'  Club"  of  '63  was  perhaps  the  most  hap 
pily  named  of  any. 

The  college  club — usually  called  the  "  Commons," 
though  it  bears  no  resemblance  to  the  obsolete  institu 
tion  of  that  name — was  started  in  the  summer  term  of 
1866,  under  the  auspices  of  the  college  authorities,  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing  a  cheap  but  respectable 
board  at  its  cost  price.  The  old  wooden  structure  next 
the  Art  Building  was  fitted  up  for  its  use,  one  large  din 
ing  room  being  formed  of  its  upper,  another  of  its  lower 
floor.  The  Seniors  and  Sophomores  occupy  one,  the 
Juniors  and  Freshmen  the  other,  though  the  classes  are 
-seated  at  separate  tables.  A  few  members  of  the  pro 
fessional  schools  are  also  admitted  when  there  happens 


244  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

to  be  vacancies.  The  club  is  under  the  management  of 
a  steward  in  the  senior  class,  appointed  by  the  faculty, 
who  receives  a  certain  salary,  in  addition  to  his  board, 
in  return  for  his  services.  Each  class  or  table  elects  a 
certain  man  to  act  as  its  spokesman  in  reporting  to  the 
steward  complaints  and  deficiencies.  The  board  bills 
are  payable  partly  in  advance,  that  is  at  the  middle  in 
stead  of  the  end  of  each  term.  In  case  the  steward  has 
trouble  in  making  his  collections,  he  reports  the  refrac 
tory  cases  to  a  certain  member  of  the  faculty,  who  calls 
the  offenders  to  account  and  enforces  payment.  About 
125  can  be  accommodated  at  the  club,  and  in  '69's  time 
there  were  usually  but  few  vacancies,  and  each  class  was 
represented  about  in  proportion  to  its  numbers, — the 
Freshmen  largely  outnumbering  the  Seniors,  and  so  on. 
Last  fall's  published  list,  however,  represented  a  total 
attendance  of  81,  composed  of  12  Seniors,  31  Juniors, 
ii  Sophomores,  17  Freshmen,  and  10  Theologues  and 
other  professional  students.  The  price  of  board  is 
about  $4  a  week,  and  without  being  good  is  better  than 
can  be  obtained  elsewhere  for  the  same  money.  Club 
board  sometimes  costs  double  that,  and  the  usual  price 
per  week  is  $6  or  $7.  Save  in  the  arrangement  by 
classes,  there  is  of  course  no  discrimination  in  the 
make-up  of  the  Commons  crowd,  and  the  only  induce 
ment  for  joining  it  is  the  pecuniary  one.  The  house  is 
more  convenient  to  the  college  than  most  boardin^ 

"  & 

houses,  however,  and  it  and  its  neighbor  are  the  oniv 
wooden  structures  now  left  upon  the  college  square. 
Pinner  is  always  served  atone  and  supper  at  six  o'clock, 
while  the  breakfast  hour  varies  with  the  variation  in  the 
time  of  morning  chapel, — immediately  preceding  that 
exercise  on  all  days  but  Sunday,  when  it  immediately 
follows  it.  The  bell  always  rings  for  the  noon  and  even-  • 
ing  meals  at  the  hours  indicated,  except  on  Sundav, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  245 

when  each  occurs  a  half-hour  earlier.  The  same  meal 
times  are  adopted  by  almost  all  college  clubs, — the  din 
ner  hour  being  the  only  one  that  is  often  varied. 

Quite  another  affair  was  the  old  Commons  Hall  system, 
which  was  abandoned  nearly  thirty  years  ago.  The  idea 
seems  to  have  been  brought  over  from  the  English  uni 
versities,  where  it  is  still  cherished  and  enforced,  that 
the  partaking  of  food  in  common  should  form  one  of  the 
essential  points  in  any  scheme  of  liberal  culture  at  all 
worthy  the  name.  At  first,  in  the  old  Connecticut  Hall, 
then,  from  1782  to  1819,  in  what  is  now  the  Laboratory, 
and  from  that  time  till  the  end,  in  1843,  in  the  present 
Cabinet  building,  all  "  the  students  in  Yale  College" 
were  obliged  to  take  their  meals  together.  Such  as 
desired  it,  however,  were  allowed  to  patronize  the  "  West 
Hall,"  where,  for  the  dozen  years  succeeding  1827,  board 
was  furnished  at  half  a  dollar  a  week  less  than  at  the 
regular  Commons.  To  show  the  kind  of  rations  sup 
plied,  may  be  quoted  a  note  of  the  authorities  in  1742, 
which  "  Ordered,  that  the  steward  shall  provide  the  com 
mons  for  the  scholars  as  follows  viz.  for  breakfast,  one 
loaf  of  bread  for  four,  which  [the  dough]  shall  weigh 
one  pound.  For  dinner  for  four,  one  loaf  of  bread  as 
aforesaid,  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  beef,  veal  or  mut 
ton,  or  one  and  three  quarter  pounds  salt  pork  about 
twice  a  week  in  the  summer  time,  one  quart  of  beer,  two 
pennyworth  of  sauce  [vegetables].  For  supper  for  four, 
two  quarts  of  milk  and  one  loaf  of  bread  when  milk  can 
conveniently  be  had,  and  when  it  cannot  then  apple  pie, 
which  shall  be  made  of  one  and  three  fourths  pounds  of 
dough,  one  quarter  pound  hog's  fat,  two  ounces  sugar 
and  half  a  peck  apples."  "In  1759  we  find,  from  a 
vote  prohibiting  the  practice,  that  beer  had  become 
one  of  the  articles  allowed  for  the  evening  meal.  Soon 
after  this  the  evening  meal  was  discontinued,  and,  as  is 


246  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

now  the  case  in  the  English  colleges,  the  students  had 
supper  in  their  own  rooms,  which  led  to  extravagance 
and  disorder." 

"  Cellar  room  was  rented  for  the  storage  of  their  ap 
ples  and  other  provisions,  and  this  cellerage  cost  more 
than  the  rent  of  a  college  room.  The  waiters  at  Com 
mons,  about  1 6  in  number,  were  appointed  by  the  faculty 
from  the  poorer  students  of  the  junior  class,  and  were 
generally  supposed  to  look  out  for  number  one.  The 
beverage  for  dinner  was  cider,  which  was  contained  in 
large  pewter  pitchers  at  each  end  of  the  table.  Up  to 
1815,  tumblers  were  an  unknown  luxury.  Each  man 
drank  in  turn  from  the  pewter,  the  galvanic  effect  of 
which  gave  a  perceptible  addition  to  the  flavor  of  the 
contents.  The  breakfasts  consisted  of  an  olla  podrida, 
hashed  up  from  the  remnants  of  yesterday's  dinner,  and 
fried  into  a  consistency  which  baffled  digestion.  This 
compound  was  known  as  '  slum,'  and  was  served  both 
dry  and  wet.  The  morning  drink  was  coffee.  Any  one 
who  could  get  a  doctor's  certificate  to  the  blessings  of  a 
chronic  dyspepsia,  or  an  incipient  cholera-morbus,  was 
sent  to  the  Invalids'  table,  where  he  enjoyed  better  fare. 
To  these  accommodations  a  Senior  or  a  tutor  prefixed 
and  affixed  a  grace,  during  the  delivery  of  which  two 
forks  were  sometimes  observed  sticking  into  each  potato 
on  the  table.  The  tutors  themselves  sat  at  elevated 
tables,  and  getting  but  little  chance  to  eat,  from  time  to 
time  rapped  with  their  knife-handles  to  call  to  order 
some  indecorous  malcontent  who  compared  the  bread 
to  bricks  or  started  up  the  '  second  perfect  indicative'  of 
pVarco,  to  denote  a  disinclination  to  ill-cooked  lamb. 
Connected  with  these  times,  was  the  custom  of  '  pod 
ding,'  as  it  was  called.  Whenever  peas  were  to  be 
boiled  for  dinner,  all  undergraduates  were  summoned  to 
assist  in  shelling  them,  and  if  any  man  was  absent,  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  247 

rest  collected  the  pods  and  threw  them,  without  cere 
mony  into  the  delinquent's  room.     It  is  related  that  as 
many  as  600  tumblers  and  30  coffee  pots  were  destroyed 
or  carried  off  in  a  single  term.     Just  before  the  old  hall 
was  abandoned,  in  1819,  there  was  a  three  days'  rebel 
lion  of  the  Freshmen  and  Sophomores,  and  nine  years 
later  came  the  '  great  rebellion'  when  about  forty  stu 
dents  were  expelled  from  the  college."     "  In  the  Revolu 
tionary  war  the  steward  was  quite  unable  once  or  twice 
to  provide  food  for  the  college,  and  this  led  to  the  dis 
persion  of  the  students  in   1776,  and   1777,  and  once 
again  in  1779  delayed  the  beginning  of  the  winter  term 
several  weeks."     In  the  days  when  the  Cabinet  served 
as  the  dining  hall,  the  Sophomores  entered  at  the  north, 
the  Freshmen  at  the  south,  and  the  Juniors  and  Seniors 
at  the  middle  door.     The  waiters,  like  the  monitors, 
lost  nothing  in  social  standing  on   account  of  their  po 
sitions.     From  this  description  it  is  not  very  difficult  to 
imagine  the  kind  of  etiquette  and  order  which  prevailed 
in  the  old  Commons  Hall.     Under  the  best  conditions 
students,  and  other  men  also,  are  seldom  contented  with 
their  food,  and  when  arbitrarily  restricted   in  obtaining 
it  their  dissatisfaction  must  have  been  extreme.     Hence 
the   "bread-and-butter   rebellions,"   the  destruction  of 
unpalatable  food,  the  smashing  of  dishes  and  furniture, 
the  wastefulness  and  rioting  and  uproar  \ — vague  ac 
counts  of  which,  like  traditions  of  another  age,  have 
come  down  to  the  present  generation  of  undergraduates. 
Another   old   college   institution   of   similar   nature, 
which  flourished  for  a  century,  but  has  left  no  sign  be 
hind,  was  the  Buttery,  abolished  in  1817.     It  was  kept 
in  South  Middle,  south  entry,  lower  front  corner  room 
(at  present  No.  33).     "The  butler  was  a  graduate  of  re 
cent  standing,  and  being  invested  with  rather  delicate 
functions  was  required  to  be  one  in  whom  confidence 


248  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

might  be  reposed.     His  chief  prerogative  was  to  have 
the  monopoly  of  certain  eatables,  drinkables  and  other  ar 
ticles  desired  by  students,  which  went  under  the  general 
name  of  '  sizings.'     The  Latin  laws  of  1748  give  him 
leave  to  sell  in  the  Buttery  cider,  metheglin,  strong  beer 
to  the  amount  of  not  more  than  12  barrels  annually, — 
which  amount  as  the  college  grew  was  increased  to  20, 
—together  with  loaf  sugar  ('saccharum  rigidum'),  pipes, 
tobacco  and  such  necessaries  of  scholars  as  were  not 
furnished  in  the  commons  hall.     Some  of  these  neces 
saries  were  books  and  stationery,  but  certain  fresh  fruits 
also  figured  largely  in  the  butler's  supply.     No  student 
might  buy  cider  or  beer  elsewhere.     The  butler,   too, 
had  the  care  of  the  bell,  kept  the  book  of  fines,  distrib 
uted  the  bread  and  beer  provided  by  the  steward  into 
equal  portions,  and  had  the  lost  commons,  for  which 
privilege  he  paid  a  small  annual  sum.     He  was  bound 
in  consideration  of  the  profits  of  his  monopoly  to  pro 
vide  candles  at  college  prayers  and  for  a  time  to  pay 
also  50  s.   stg.   into  the  college  treasury.     The  more 
menial  part  of  these  duties  he  performed  by  his  waiter. 
The  original  motives  for  setting  up  a  buttery  in  college 
seem  to  have  been  to  put  the  trade  in  articles  which  ap 
pealed  to  the  appetite  into  safe  hands,  to  ascertain  how 
far  students  were  expensive  in  their  habits,  and  prevent 
them  from  running  into  debt ;  and  finally  by  providing 
a  place  where  drinkables  of  not  very  stimulating  qual 
ities  were  sold  to  remove  the  temptation  of  going  abroad 
after  spirituous  liquors.     Accordingly  laws  were  passed 
limiting  the  sum  for  which  the  butler  might  give  credit 
to  a  student,  authorizing  the  President   to  inspect  his 
books,  and  forbidding  him  to  sell  anything  except  per 
mitted  articles  for  ready  money.     But  the  whole  system, 
as  viewed  from  our  position  as  critics  of  the  past  must 
be  pronounced  a  bad  one.     It  rather  tempted  the  stu- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  249 

dent  to  self-indulgence  by  setting  up  a  place  for  the  sale 
of  things  to  eat  and  drink  within  the  college  walls,  than 
restrained  him  by  bringing  his  habits  under  inspection. 
There  was  nothing  to  prevent  his  going  abroad  in  quest 
of  stronger  drinks  than  could  be  bought  at  the  buttery, 
when  once  those  which  were  there  sold  ceased  to  allay 
his  thirst.  And  a  monopoly,  such  as  the  butler  enjoyed 
of  certain  articles,  did  not  tend  to  lower  their  price,  nor 
to  remove  suspicion  that  they  were  sold  at  a  higher  rate 
than  free  competition  would  assign  to  them.'' 

There  are  certain  lodging  houses  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  colleges  which,  being  occupied  year  after  year  almost 
exclusively  by  Freshmen,  come  to  have  a  reputation  as 
"  freshman  headquarters."  An  occupant  of  one  of  these, 
or  of  any  room  near  the  college  square,  is  more  likely 
to  be  troubled  by  sophomoric  visitations,  than  one  who 
rooms  by  himself  in  some  comparatively  distant  locality. 
Most  of  the  ill-treatment  of  Freshmen  is  inflicted  upon 
them  simply  as  such,  not  as  individuals  who  are  person 
ally  obnoxious  ;  hence  a  crowd  of  Sophomores  on  the 
look  out  for  "  fun"  attempt  to  get  it  from  the  Freshmen 
who  chance  to  be  the  most  accessible.  Perhaps  it  is 
eight  or  nine  o'clock,  of  a  Freshman's  first  or  second 
evening  at  Yale,  when  he  may  be  studying  his  next 
morning's  lesson,  that  a  rap  comes  upon  his  door,  which 
he  may  or  may  not  suspect  to  proceed  from  Sophomores, 
and  in  reply  to  which  he  may  or  may  not  say,  "  Come 
in  !"  or  himself  open  the  \vay.  If  he  does  not  so  do, 
however,  all  doubts  as  to  the  personality  of  the  knock 
ers  are  quickly  removed,  by  cries  of  "  Open  that  door, 
Fresh  !"  "  Let  us  in,  Freshie,  if  you  don't  want  to  die  !" 
and  similar  cheerful  imperatives  and  imprecations. 
Perhaps  the  Freshman  then  opens  the  door ;  perhaps 
if  he  doesn't,  the  Sophs  burst  it  open,  lock  and  all  ; 
perhaps  they  came  in,  or  attempted  to  come  in,  at  first 

12* 


250  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

without  knocking  at  all ;  but  the  result  of  any  of  the 
numerous  possibilities  that  have  been  suggested  is,  that 
the  Freshman,  before  he  has  time  to  think  up  any  ra 
tional  plan  of  action,  finds  his  room  full  of  swaggering, 
loud-mouthed  Sophomores,  and  himself  at  their  mercy. 
Perhaps  if  he  said  "  Come  in  !"  to  the  first  rap,  one  of 
the  visitors  advances  and  shakes  hands  with  him  with  a 
great  show  of  mock  deference,  and  presents  him  to  the 
others  as  a  worthy  member  of  the  class  of  such-a-year. 
They  order  him  to  mount  the  table,  and  place  him  there 
if  he  does  not  of  his  own  accord  obey,  perhaps  supplying 
a  chair  for  him  to  sit  in.  After  darkening  the  room  some 
what,  they  shut  down  the  windows,  call  for  cigars  and 
tobacco,  and  if  the  Freshman  has  none  they  themselves 
produce  the  latter  and  proceed  to  load  their  pipes,  and 
light  them,  taking  pains  to  puff  as  much  smoke  as  pos 
sible  in  the  Freshman's  face.  Meanwhile  he  is  requested 
to  "scan" — that  is,  recite  metrically —  a  proposition  in 
Euclid,  or  a  rule  of  the  Greek  grammar,  or  a  passage  in 
any  other  prose  work  that  may  be  convenient ;  to  make  a 
speech  ;  to  sing  a  song  ;  to  dance  ;  to  recite  the  alphabet 
backwards  ;  to  tell  his  name  and  age  ;  to  do  every  un 
pleasant  and  absurd  thing  that  the  evil  ingenuity  of  a 
Sophomore  can  conjure  up.  Unless  he  makes  some 
show  of  obedience  to  these  requests,  his  visitors  "  stir 
him  up"  with  their  bangers,  or  if  he  is  obstinate  and  re 
fuses  to  do  anything,  or  even  attempts  to  defend  himself, 
they  cover  his  head  with  a  blanket  and  blow  tobacco 
smoke  up  under  it  until  he  is  stifled  or  sick.  This  is  a 
complete  "  smoking  out,"  and  unless  some  such  plan  is 
resorted  to  the  Freshman,  even  though  not  a  smoker, 
can  usually  endure  the  process  without  much  more  in 
convenience  than  his  entertainers  themselves,  and  is 
seldom  sickened  by  it.  The  Sophomores  of  course  im 
prove  their  time  in  saying  would-be  smart  and  witty 


THE  S  TUDENT  L IFE.  2  5 1 

things  at  their  victim's  expense, — a  style  of  wit  that  is 
pointless  save  when  indecent  or  obscene, — and  on  their 
departure  may  take  with  them  any  little  articles  of  prop 
erty  that  fall  in  their  way. 

The  regular  time  for  pillaging  the  Freshmen,  however, 
is  when  they  are  absent  at  recitation,  especially  on  the 
first  and  second  Saturday  noons  of  the  term,  when  the 
Sophomores  are  at  leisure.  They  proceed  to  the  Fresh 
men's  rooms,  in  parties  of  three  or  four,  and  carry  off 
anything  they  find  there  likely  to  please  themselves  or, 
by  its  loss,  to  inconvenience  the  owner.  Pipes,  tobacco 
and  cigars  are  the  first  things  confiscated,  and  are  sel 
dom  returned.  Combs,  hair  brushes,  shaving  brushes, 
clothes  brushes,  blacking  brushes,  looking  glasses,  pens, 
ink,  and  paper,  pencils,  knives,  and  paper  cutters,  collars, 
shirts,  and  neck  ties,  towels,  soap,  hones,  razors,  scissors, 
picture  frames  and  ornaments,  text-books  and  lexicons, 
anything  and  everything,  all  are  seized  upon.  In  a 
week  or  two,  or  after  a  longer  interval,  the  Freshman 
may  have  the  most  valuable  of  his  missing  article  mys 
teriously  returned  to  him.  Or  even  within  a  few  days  a 
Sophomore  may  openly  bring  them  back,  and  perhaps 
go  so  far  as  to  apologize,  by  saying  that  he  thoughtlessly 
lugged  them  off  in  a  drunken  frolic.  This  practice  of 
stealing  is  apt  to  surprise  and  enrage  a  Freshman  more 
than  the  "  smoking  out."  The  latter  he  was  in  a  meas 
ure  prepared  for  by  the  rumors  current  in  the  newspa 
pers,  but  of  the  other  "  custom"  he  had  probably  had 
no  previous  intimation.  By  the  time  the  college  cata 
logues  are  issued,  during  the  second  week  of  November, 
he  has  probably  grown  wary  enough  to  be  more  on  his 
guard,  though  he  may  not  yet  have  learned  that  a  spe 
cific  aim  of  the  Sophomores  is  to  seize  upon  these  pam 
phlets,  so  soon  as  the  Freshmen  shall  have  purchased 
them.  On  the  day  of  publication,  the  catalogues  are 


252  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

distributed  among  the  latter  by  their  division  officers,  at 
the  close  of  the  noon  recitation,  and  charged  against 
them  on  their  term-bills,  at  the  rate  often  cents  per 
copy.  They  are  given  to  the  upper  classes  in  the  same 
way,  but  the  Fresh  are  of  course  the  chief  purchasers, 
many  an  individual  taking  a  dozen  or  more  copies.  If 
the  Sophs  should  meet  such  a  one  alone  upon  the  street 
they  would  not  hesitate  to  wrest  his  catalogues  from 
him  forthwith,  but  their  usual  procedure  is  to  visit  the 
Freshmen's  rooms  while  they  are  at  dinner,  and  then 
rob  them  of  their  pamphlets.  A  Freshman's  tobacco, 
catalogues,  and  umbrellas  are  looked  upon  as  lawful 
prey  by  many  who  scorn  the  indiscriminate  pilfering  of 
his  possessions.  Cap  snatching  is  also  quite  a  common 
practice.  Though  a  Soph  would  not  steal  a  cap  from  a 
Freshman's  room,  he  would  think  it  a  great  exploit  to 
"gobble  up"  the  head  coverings  of  an  entire  club  from 
the  hall  or  entry  of  the  house  where  they  were  taking 
supper.  A  solitary  Fresh  passing  near  a  crowd  of 
Sophs  also  stands  in  danger  of  losing  his  hat,  particu 
larly  if  it  be  evening.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  prac 
tice  carried  by  the  Sophs  of  '71,  that  the  Fresh  of  '72 
were  for  a  time  in  the  habit  of  wearing  caps  made  of 
paper,  when  they  went  upon  the  street  after  dark,  so  that 
if  they  chanced  to  be  "  scalped  "  their  loss  would  be 
trifling. 

It  was  said  that  "  smoking  out  "  is  generally  practised 
upon  Freshmen  before  they  become  known  as  individ 
uals.  "Hazing," — which  according  to  the  dictionary 
would  include  this,  and  all  other  outrages,  annoyances, 
and  impositions  to  which  Freshmen  are  exposed— signi 
fies  among  Yale  men  the  punishment  of  those  who  have 
become  personally  obnoxious  to  the  Sophomores.  It 
is  a  more  deliberate  and  cold-blooded  thing  than  "  smok 
ing  out,"  in  which  the  participants  do  not — certainly  at 


THE  ^TUDENT  LIFE.  253 

the  outset — entertain  any  feelings  of  revenge  or  malice 
toward  their  victim.  The  one  thing  naturally  leads  to 
the  other,  however,  and  a  "  subject "  for  "  smoking  out " 
who  "  shows  fight,"  and  perhaps  gets  the  better  of  his 
entertainers,  may  be  marked  for  more  elaborate  and 
formal  attentions.  A  Fresh  who  is  notably  "  loud  "  and 
defiant  in  his  bearing  ;  who  takes  pains  to  hurl  con 
tempt  upon  his  "  natural  rulers  "  ;  who  returns  an  "  Oh, 
Soph  !  "  for  every  "  Oh,  Fresh  !  "  more  than  all,  who  tells 
tales  to  the  faculty,  is  thought  a  proper  subject  for 
"bringing  down."  The  self-appointed  committee  who 
are  to  carry  out  this  process  manage  to  entrap  their 
man  in  a  close  carriage— and  this,  by  means  of  disguises 
and  other  deceptions,  is  not  usually  a  very  difficult  mat 
ter —  where  he  is  gagged,  blindfolded,  and  rendered 
powerless.  They  then  drive  off  to  the  appointed  ren 
dezvous,  some  desolate  locality  like  East  or  West  Rock, 
where  others  are  perhaps  awaiting  them.  The  indigni 
ties  here  inflicted  depend  upon  the  ingenuity  of  the  tor 
turers  and  the  extent  of  their  dislike  for  the  victim. 
The  cutting  off  of  his  hair  is  the  commonest  device. 
Perhaps  they  mark  upon  his  cheek  the  numeral  of  his 
class,  employing  for  the  purpose  some  chemical  that  will 
remain  for  several  days  indelible,  or  strip  him  and 
smear  his  naked  body  with  paint ;  or  pour  cold  water 
upon  him ;  or  practice  certain  things  which  cannot  be 
named :  finally  leaving  him,  half-clothed,  with  a  gag  in 
his  mouth  perhaps,  and  his  hands  bound  behind  him,  to 
find  his  way  back  to  the  city  ;  or  possibly  dropping  him, 
in  this  plight,  within  the  walls  of  the  cemetery,  where 
he  would  probably  have  to  stay  until  the  opening  of  the 
gates  in  the  morning.  This  is  what  "hazing"  means 
at  Yale,  and  it  has  been  thought  proper  to  be  thus  ex 
plicit  in  describing  it.  It  should  be  understood  that 
while  all  the  things  mentioned  have,  on  the  authority  of 


254  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

accredited  rumor,  really  been  practised,  they  have  not 
all,  or  many  of  them,  been  practised  at  any  one  time. 
And  it  may  be  further  stated  that,  of  late  years  and 
probably  always,  the  cases  of  hazing  have  averaged 
less  than  one  for  every  class.  It  is  a  sort  of  freshman 
bugbear,  whose  occasional  appearance  induces  a  belief 
in  its  continual  presence.  There  can  of  course  be  no 
word  of  defence  said  in  favor  of  the  barbarity,  yet  it  is 
nearly  as  certain  that  the  victims  of  it  always  bring  it 
upon  themselves.  For  this  reason,  however  great  may 
be  the  indignation  against  the  hazers,  there  is  very  little 
sympathy  felt  for.  the  hazed,  even  by  his  own  classmates. 
The  justice  of  the  "  taking  down  "  has  to  be  recognized, 
even  though  its  high-handedness  be  deprecated.  On 
the  other  hand,  no  one  is  surprised  when  a  hazed 
Freshman  afterwards  turns  out  to  be  a  "big  man  "in 
his  class,  and  stands  high  in  college  repute.  As  for 
one's  conduct  toward  "  smokers  out,"  this  may  be  said : 
once  in  his  room  there  is  no  chance  for  a  boy  of  ordi- 
nary  physique  to  make  an  effective  defence  against  them. 
If  he  be  of  the  heroic  mould,  and  wishes  to  "  die  game," 
he  may  be  enabled,  by  singling  out  an  individual  inter 
loper,  to  "smash"  him,  with  the  certainty  of  being  him 
self  "  smashed  "  in  return.  A  more  logical  proceeding 
for  a  boy  of  self-respect,  is  to  remain  passive  but  obey 
no  orders  at  any  price.  Abuse  of  a  lay  figure  is  not 
exhilarating — even  for  Sophomores.  A  more  natural 
and  alas !  common  one  is  to  obey  just  so  far  as  may 
seem  necessary  to  escape  personal  violence.  With  suf 
ficient  warning  on  both  sides,  a  pistol-shot  through  the 
door  is  the  surest  way  to  scatter  a  crowd  of  Sophs 
pressing  against  it,  and  though  they  vow  dire  vengeance 
against  him  in  consequence,  a  Freshman  who  thus  de 
fends  himself  will  not  be  likely  afterwards  to  suffer  at 
their  hands,  save  for  some  additional  reason.  The 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  255 

attempt  to  drive  Sophomores  out  of  a  room  by  a  threat 
ening  display  of  a  pistol  is,  on  the  other  hand,  sheer  folly. 
Another  amusement  of  this  gentry,  is,  of  an  evening, 
when  passing  a  Freshman's  room  which  fronts  upon  the 
street,  to  shout,  "  Put  out  that  light,  Freshie  !  "  and,  if 
the  obedient  Freshman  douses  his  glim,  to  cry,  "  Light 
her  up  again,  Fresh !  "  and  so  to  keep  him  at  work 
until  the  Sophs  grow  tired  of  the  sport.  If  he  pays  no 
attention  to  their  clamors,  or  even  shouts  back  a  defi 
ance,  they  will  probably  let  him  alone,  though,  if  the 
locality  be  a  safe  one  for  the  practice,  they  may  hurl  a 
stone  through  his  window  in  return.  "  Oh  Fresh  ! 
Freshie !  Freshman  ! "  are  the  cries  which  constantly 
greet  him  upon  the  street,  especially  when  he  passes 
near  a  crowd  of  Sophs,  seated  upon  the  college  fence, 
or  hanging  about  their  club  headquarters  after  dinner, 
in  which  cases  delicate  personal  compliments  are  added, 
as  :  "  What  a  pretty  Freshman  !  "  "  See  his  new  neck 
tie  !  "  "  How  his  boots  shine !  "  "  Keep  step  there, 
Freshie!  Left!  right!  left!  Left!  right!  left !"  And  so 
on.  Another  diversion  for  a  crowd  of  scoffing  Sopho 
mores  is  to  attend  the  gymnasium,  and  make  comments 
on  the  Freshmen  there  performing, — thereby  of  course 
adding  to  the  latter's  self-complacency  and  ease  of  mind, 
— or,  when  tired  of  this,  to  assist  them  in  their  exer 
cise  ;  forcing  a  Freshman  by  means  of  various  "  encour 
agements,"  to  dance  upon  the  spring-board,  or  swing  a 
club,  or  climb  a  rope  or  ladder,  and  so  on.  The  favorite 
song  of  the  Sophs  is  called  "  Bingo,"  and  winds  up 
with  a  wild  yell  of,  "  B  !  I !  N  !  G  !  O  !  —My  !  POOR  ! ! 
FRESH  ! ! ! "  These  practices  which  have  been  men 
tioned  are  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  first  term 
of  the  year,  and  in  great  part  to  the  first  half  of  that 
term. 

Within  a  week  from  the  opening  day,  notices,  devised 


256  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

by  "leading  men,"  are  circulated  through  the  freshman 
division  rooms,  announcing  that  "there  is  to  be  a  rush 
on  Library  street  to-night  at  seven  o'clock  and  every 
man  must  be  there  to  defend  the  honor  of  the  class." 
Sometimes  the  Fresh  assemble  and  find  no  Sophs  to 
meet  them,  sometimes  the  reverse  is  the  case ;  but  sup 
posing  both  parties  to'be  in  readiness  at  the  appointed 
time,  each  forms  in  solid  mass,  with  its  heaviest  men  in 
the  front  rank,  and  rushes  towards  its  opponent,  en 
deavouring  to  sweep  it  from  the  walk  and  street,  go 
through  it,  break  it  up  and  disorganize  it  generally.  As 
a  preliminary,  there  are  of  course  defiant  songs,  outcries 
and  a  general  interchange  of  compliments.  But  the 
rush :  a  seething,  struggling  mass  of  men,  shoving, 
crushing,  trampling  one  another,  snatching  caps  and 
tearing  clothes,  fighting  for  dear  life  to  work  their  way 
through  with  some  show  of  unbroken  ranks.  The  force 
of  the  first  attack  having  spent  itself,  the  parties  draw 
off  and  reorganize  for  another  onset,  and  the  process  is 
again -gone  through  with.  The  result  is  apt  to  be  a 
drawn  battle  in  which  each  side  claims  the  victory. 
The  Freshmen  generally  have  the  advantage  in  numbers, 
the  Sophomores  in  experience  and  discipline  ;  there  are 
Juniors  to  marshal  the  former,  and  perhaps  Seniors 
may  help  the  latter,  though  sometimes  Juniors  and 
Seniors  may  both  join  the  Freshmen  if  they  are  un 
equally  matched  with  their  opponents.  The  interference 
of  the  college  authorities  quickly  breaks  up  a  Library  street 
rush,  and  with  a  few  cries  of  "  Faculty  !  faculty  !  "  the 
combatants  scatter  before  many  can  be  identified,  since 
those  who  are  caught  are  heavily  "  marked  "  or  even 
"  suspended."  There  is  in  fact  so  much  danger  of  this, 
that  it  is  getting  common  to  appoint  as  a  place  for  the 
"  trial  of  strength  "  Hamilton  Park,  the  ball  ground  out 
side  the  city,  where,  at  the  close  of  some  match-game  of 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  257 

ball,  which  serves  as  an  excuse  for  assembling,  the  par 
ties  can  draw  up  their  ranks  and  "  rush  "  one  another 
without  fear  of  interruption.  After  one  or  two  "  square 
rushes/'  at  the  Park  or  elsewhere,  every  one's  "  honor  " 
is  for  the  time  satisfied,  and  no  more  formal  trials  of  the 
kind  are  attempted  for  the  term.  A  party  of  Sophs, 
inarching  up  from  a  regatta,  or  from  a  visit  to  the  post- 
office,  or  in  any  way  chancing  to  be  together,  will  usually 
make  any  Freshman  they  may  meet  "  clear  the  track," 
or  be  brushed  off  the  sidewalk;  and  if  the  latter  are  in 
sufficient  force  to  resist,  there  may  be  some  scuffling  and 
confusion.  But  these  ex-tempore  rencounters  are  not 
called  rushes. 

Freshmen  are  not  "  allowed"  by  the  Sophomores  to 
carry  bangers,  nor  yet  to  wear  the  style  of  hat  variously 
known  as  beaver,  stove-pipe,  and  plug,  until  the  last 
Sunday  of  the  second  term.  About  the  middle  of  that 
term,  however,  they  open  hostilities  upon  a  certain  day, 
usually  a  Wednesday  or  Saturday  afternoon,  by  a  grand 
display  of  bangers ; — a  large  crowd  of  Fresh  marching 
about  the  principal  streets  of  the  town,  ringing  these 
clubs  upon  the  pavement  by  way  of  defiance,  and  per 
haps  displaying  a  beaver  hat  or  two  besides.  This  chal 
lenge  is  accepted  by  the  Sophomores,  and  in  the  evening 
a  "  banger  rush"  takes  place.  Most  of  the  bangers 
which  were  swung  so  valiantly  in  the  afternoon  have 
been  laid  aside,  and  only  one  or  two  are  brought  out  in 
the  evening  by  the  Freshmen  who  are  to  act  as  cham 
pions.  The  others  flock  about  those  to  form  a  body 
guard  against  the  expected  attacks  of  the  Sophomores, 
since  the  rush  is  begun  by  the  latter  for  the  purpose  of 
wresting  away  the  bangers  and  thereby  vindicating  their 
authority.  Perhaps  it  takes  place  at  the  post-office,  di 
rectly  after  supper,  or  on  Chapel  street,  or  in  some 
obscure  locality,  at  a  later  hour  of  the  evening.  If  on 


258  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Saturday  night,  it  happens  at  a  very  late  hour.  The 
freshman  societies,  adjourning  at  about  the  same  time, 
join  one  another  in  front  of  Delta  Kap  hall,  near  the 
corner  of  Church  street,  and  march  up  Chapel  in  close 
array,  perhaps  singing  some  defiant  song.  The  Soph 
omores  may  await  them  at  some  crossing  and  there 
pounce  upon  them,  or  inarch  along  up  Chapel  street,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  way.  Finally,  an  onset  is  made  : 
Freshmen  and  Sophomores  struggle  and  twist  together, 
roll  each  other  in  the  mud  and  slush,  lose  and  regain 
the  all-important  banger,  and  are  at  last  dispersed  by 
the  policemen  or  faculty  or  both.  If  an  arrest  is  made, 
both  classes  raise  the  cry  of  "  Yale  !  Yale !"  and  try  to 
rescue  the  unfortunate  from  the  clutches  of  the  peelers, 
in  which  they  often  succeed.  Force  failing,  they  may 
attempt  to  bargain  for  his  release  by  the  promise  to 
quietly  disperse.  There  is  always  money  enough  in  a 
crowd  to  "  bail  out"  any  who  may  be  arrested,  so  that  a 
student  seldom  passes  a  night  in  the  lock-up,  and  the 
subsequent  fines  do  not  much  trouble  him,  for  if  a  poor 
man  his  comrades  make  up  the  amount.  The  worst 
feature  of  his  arrest  is  the  bringing  his  name  to  the 
ears  of  the  faculty,  whose  mandates  are  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  those  of  the  courts.  It  is  a  habit  of  the 
New  Haven  policemen,  at  the  time  of  a  rush,  to  arrest 
some  upper-class  man  who  may  be  quietly  watching  the 
sport ; — this  being  an  easier  procedure  than  the  seizure 
of  one  of  the  actual  combatants,  and  serving  quite  as 
well,  in  the  eyes  of  the  general  public,  for  a  proof  of 
official  vigilance.  Banger  rushes,  after  the  first,  are  of 
a  rather  intermittent  character,  happening,  off  and  on, 
for  the  rest  of  the  term.  When  a  solitary  Fresh,  care 
lessly  swinging  his  banger,  is  pounced  upon  by  several 
Sophs,  and  cannot  escape  by  flight,  he  clings  to  the 
sacred  cane,  and  shouts  with  all  his  might  the  numeral 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  259 

of  his  class.  This  generally  brings  both  friends  and 
enemies,  and  he  becomes  the  central  figure  of  a  rush,  in 
very  short  order.  "  Beaver  rushes"  are  of  the  same 
general  character,  except  that  the  Sophs,  even  though 
they  fail  to  get  possession  of  the  hat,  are  quite  certain 
to  smash  it,  which  is  almost  as  gratifying.  For  this  rea 
son  the  wearing  of  beavers  in  advance  of  the  traditional 
time  is  too  expensive  a  sport  to  be  indulged  in  by  more 
than  a  few  individuals.  Sometimes  a  banger  or  beaver 
rush  takes  place  on  the  ice  of  Lake  Saltonstall,  four 
miles  from  the  city,  when  crowds  have  assembled  there 
for  the  nominal  purpose  of  skating.  Rushes  here,  as  at 
Hamilton  Park,  are  free  from  the  reproach  of  disturbing 
anyone  but  the  participants  ;  but  for  the  past  two  years 
these  banger  rushes  of  the  second  term  have  been  aban 
doned  altogether.  A  Freshman  never  defies  a  Sopho 
more  on  Sunday,  by  displaying  either  banger  or  beaver, 
nor  does  the  latter  make  depredations  on  that  day, 
though  at  any  other  time  he  will  confiscate  a  Freshman's 
club  or  hat  wherever  he  finds  them. 

The  rush  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  substitute  for  the  old 
foot-ball  game, — abolished  by  the  faculty  in  1857, — 
though  perhaps  it  also  flourished  at  the  same  time  with 
it.  About  a  month  after  the  opening  of  the  term,  a 
notice  was  posted  at  the  Lyceum  door,  challenging  the 
Sophomores  to  meet  the  Freshmen  in  the  annual  game 
of  foot-ball,  and  signed  by  three  of  the  latter,  in  behalf 
of  the  entire  class.  A  notice,  accepting  the  challenge, 
appointing  the  green  as  the  place,  and  half-past  two  of 
a  particular  Wednesday  or  Saturday  afternoon  as  the 
time  for  the  trial,  was  in  turn  nailed  up  at  the  Athe 
naeum  door,  attested  by  the  signatures  of  three  sophomore 
committee  men,  and  usually  headed  by  some  poetical 
quotation  welcoming  the  Fresh  to  destruction.  The 
Freshmen  supplied  the  ball  ;  umpires  were  chosen  from 


2o  2,*OUR    YEARS  AT 

among  graduates  or  upper-class  men  ;  spectators  from 
the  upper  classes  and  the  town  covered  the  State  House 
steps  and  other  convenient  places  for  looking  on ;  and 
the  game  began.  Better  than  any  possible  account  from 
one  who  has  never  seen  it,  is  this  description  of  the 
sport,  written,  after  graduation,  by  a  man  who  regretted 
its  abolishment,— a  member  of  the  class  of  '58,  who  was 
killed  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  : 

"  Off  with  your  coat,  man,  if  you  don't  want  it  torn. 
Don't  you  hear  the  <  warning'  ?     That  is  Jones,  the  best 
player  in  the  sophomore  class.      He  steps  back,  runs 
forward,  and  up  goes  the  ball,  way  over  the  heads  of  our 
side.     Lucky  you  were  back  there  by  the  steps  to  catch 
it.     Good!    well   done!     Stop!    don't  kick  it;    this  is 
Rushing  game ;   give   Brown  your  hat  and  let  him  run 
one  way  hiding  it  in   his  bosom  ;    and  while  he  makes 
that  diversion  you  run  the  other.      Now   then  !    Run  ! 
Never  mind  those  fellows  who  run  out  to  head  you  off  \ 
dodge  them  if  you  can,  and  if  you  are  caught,  hang  on 
to  the  ball  like  grim  death.     "  ///  /   'Fifty-four!  'Fifty- 
five!  Stop  him!    Quick  !  this  way  !    Hold  him  !   Push! 
Get  the  ball!"     But  you  can  no  longer  distinguish  sep 
arate  sounds.     You  are  now  the  center  of  a  dense  mass 
of  men,  shouting,  shoving,  dragging,  struggling,  swaying 
to  and  fro  toward  either  side   of  the  field.     You  know 
that  you  have  one  man  by  the   throat   who  is  trying  to 
seize  the  ball,  and  in  the  exultation  of  conscious  power 
you  don't  see  that  he  has  you  by  the  hair.     There  is  an 
unsatisfactory  sensation   in  your  legs  which  you  after 
wards  conclude  must  have  been  produced  by  the  stamp 
ing  and  kicking  of  a  hundred  boot-heels  ;  but  you  don't 
mind  that,  for  one  of  your  battered   limbs  is  twined 
round  your  adversary's,  so  that  the  next  move  of  the 
crowd  must  bring  him  down.     Ah  !    there  it  goes,   but 
the  sway  is  in  the  wrong  direction,  and  brings  you  down 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  2  6 1 

under  him;  and  what  is  worse,  under  that  forest  of 
boots  !  But  the  ball !  your  sacred  trust !  He  lets  it  go— 
we  are  close  to  the  fence — and  whistle — away  it  flies  just 
as  some  big  heel  comes  crushing  against  your  head.  . . . 

" '  Do  you  feel  better  now  ? ' 

"'Oh  yes  !  stunned  a  little,  that's  all.  But  the  ball, 
is  it  over? ' 

"  '  Over  !  1  should  think  so.  But  you  must  go  home 
now,  you  are  hurt.' 

" '  Hurt !  I  am  not  hurt.  I  hope  you  don't  think  I 
mind  a  little  blood.  Pshaw  !  come  and  join  the  next 
game  !' " 

The  class  of  '61  was  the  last  to  post  a  challenge.  It 
was  accepted  by  '60,  and  everything  was  appointed  in 
due  order,  when  the  faculty  voted  that  the  game  should 
not  take  place,  and  it  has  never  been  heard  of  since. 
From  the  fact  that  it  had  been  dispensed  with  by  some 
classes  before  that,  the  custom  seems  to  have  been  some 
what  on  the  wane,  or  it  might  not  have  died  so  quietly. 
The  Sophomores,  being  experts,  were  of  course  almost 
inevitably  the  victors.  Sometimes,  however,  both  parties 
claimed  the  victory,  as  in  1853,  when  a  fierce  dispute 
arose  between  the  Fresh  of  '57  and  the  Sophs  of  '56, 
and  a  four-page  sheet  called  the  Arbiter  was  issued,  "  in 
the  interest  of  impartial  justice,"  to  defend  the  claims  of 
the  Freshmen.  "  Songs  of  the  Ball,"  too,  were  every 
year  written,  printed,  and  sung  by  the  victors,  and  doubt 
less  by  the  vanquished  also  ;  and  the  leader  of  the  vic 
torious  class  was  usually  rewarded  with  a  boquet  or  sim- 
ilar  token  of  approval,  sent  by  the  lady  witnesses  of  the 
spectacle,  the  reception  whereof  he  publicly  acknowl 
edged.  Foot-ball  had  been  a  popular  college  pastime 
for  full  half  a  century  at  the  time  of  the  abolishment  of 
the  trial  of  strength  between  the  two  lower  classes 
which  annually  happened  in  its  name.  Two  years  later, 


262  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  municipal  law  forbade  the  students  to  use  the  green  as 
a  play  ground,  and  so  the  sport  itself,  as  well  as  the 
annual  struggle  which  was  its  outgrowth,  became  obso 
lete.  In  the  fall  of  1870  the  custom  of  kicking  ball 
was  revived  somewhat, — the  freedom  of  the  college  yard 
being  granted  for  the  purpose, — and  there  were  two  or 
three  match  games  played  at  Hamilton  Park  between 
the  Juniors  and  Sophomores. 

A  disgraceful  practice — which  originated  in  the  class 
of  '70,  and  which  bids  fair  to  become  a  settled  "cus 
tom,"  if  indeed  it  has  not  become  one  already — is  the 
painting  upon  the  fences  and  walks  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  colleges,  and  even  upon  the  buildings  themselves, 
the  numeral  of  the  freshman  class,  in  gigantic  characters, 
with  perhaps  an  "  Oh,  Soph  !  "  added.     This  unspeak 
ably  childish  procedure  is  presumably  intended  as  a  de 
fiance  to  the  class  above.     The  Freshmen  who  are  thus 
guilty  of  sneaking  out  at  midnight  with  brush  and  paint- 
pot  to  perpetrate  this  imbecile  barbarism  are  not  known 
to   their    classmates,   who   condemn    the    practice    as 
heartily  as  do  all  the  rest  of  college.     This  is  one  of  the 
occasions  where  a  few  individual  fools  are  able  to  act  in 
the  name  of  and  disgrace  an  entire  class  and  college. 
The  men  in  '70  who  begun  the  business  are  most  of  all 
to  blame,  for  the  traces  of  their  bad  work  remained 
next  year,  to  suggest  the  idea  to  their  freshman  succes 
sors.     The  worst  of  these  accordingly  felt  called  upon 
to  mark  "'71"   in  still  larger  characters,  and  in  still 
more  prominent  places,  than  "  '70  "  had  been  marked. 
The  next  year  Freshmen  thought  it  a  brave  deed  to  im 
prove  on   their  predecessors.     And  so  it  has  gone  on. 
The  worst  thing  about  it  being  that  the   deed  is  done 
before  a  freshman  class  is  well   enough  organized  to 
make  its  opinion  condemning  it  felt  by  each  individual ; 
and  when  done  the  infamy  is   practically  indelible.     A 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  263 

few  of  the  '69  Sophs  whose  doors  and  windows  were 
daubed  in  this  way,  seized  upon  the  first  Freshmen  who 
came  to  hand,  and  forced  them  in  broad  daylight  to 
scrub  off  the  work  of  their  classmates.  The  Freshman 
who  climbed  up  the  Lyceum  lightning  rod  and  painted 
"  '64  "  upon  the  white  face  of  the  college  clock,  did  a 
thing  whose  difficulty  somewhat  atoned  for  its  foolish 
ness  ;  but  in  this  cowardly  disfigurement  of  the  college 
buildings  there  is  absolutely  no  redeeming  feature.  A 
somewhat  analagous,  though  far  less  disreputable,  prac 
tice,  occasionally  in  vogue  among  the  Freshmen,  is  the 
issuing  of  printed  handbills  in  ridicule  of  their  superiors. 
Though  the  sarcasm  is  often  weak,  there  is  at  least  an 
attempt  to  say  something,  and  the  bills  even  if  pasted 
up  can  be  torn  down  again.  "  Give  me  that  banger, 
Freshie,  or  I'll  tell  the  faculty,"  were  the  words  upon  a 
'69  poster,  which  was  issued  to  acquaint  college  with  the 
fact  that  a  Sophomore,  by  the  use  of  this  threat,  had 
forced  a  Fresh  to  surrender  a  banger  which  he  had 
stolen  from  the  former's  room.  Similarly,  "  '69  below 
par  ;  Sophs  selling  at  a  discount  at  the  Hamilton  Park 
stock  exchange,"  was  the  bill  issued  by  the  '70  Fresh 
men,  when  no  Sophomores  went  to  the  Park  to  rush 
them  at  the  time  expected.  To  pull  off  one  of  the 
pointers  of  the  clock  upon  the  Lyceum  tower  is  often  an 
object  of  freshman  or  even  sophomore  ambition.  The 
'70  Freshmen  once,  in  the  night  time,  placed  a  white 
flag  bearing  the  numeral  of  their  class  upon  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  the  Library. 

Another  disreputable  practice  of  the  Freshmen,  which 
fortunately  was  put  an  end  to  before  the  painting 
nuisance  commenced,  was  known  as  "gate -lifting."  On 
the  night  before  Thanksgiving  day,  crowds  of  Fresh 
men  were  wont  to  range  about  the  city,  unshipping  the 
gates  of  the  citizens,  carrying  them  off  for  some  clis- 


264  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tance,  or  making  a  pile  of  them  in  the  college  yard. 
Thither  the  next  morning  would  assemble  the  irate 
owners,  in  search  for  their  property,  at  whom  the  Fresh 
would  shout,  "  Lift  up  your  gates'!  "  as  they  carried  them 
away.  It  happened  that  the  gate  stealing  Freshmen  of 
'69  came  to  grief  in  this  wise  :  A  pair  of  them  were 
arrested  by  the  police,  shut  up  over  night  with  the  com 
mon  criminals,  heavily  fined  by  the  judge  next  day,  and 
suspended  by  the  faculty  for  the  space  of  a  term.  Since 
then,  few  traces  of  the  "  custom  "  have  been  made  mani 
fest.  On  the  night  in  question,  two  innocent  Freshmen 
who  chanced  to  be  upon  the  street  were  seized  upon  by 
the  peelers  and  locked  up  with  the  others,  in  spite  of 
their  protestations.  They  of  course  escaped  conviction, 
though  held  by  the  newspapers  to  be  equally  guilty  with 
the  others,  and  to  owe  their  release  to  good  luck,— in 
stead  of  to  the  real  fact,  that  they  had  no  possible  con 
nection  with  the  matter. 

The  street  lamps  are  among  the  things  which  suffer 
at  the  hands  of  students.  Several  '69  Freshmen  had  a 
habit  of  "collecting"  from  inside  the  lamps  the  little 
strips  of  glass  on  which  the  names  of  the  streets  were 
painted.  The  "  value  "  of  one  of  these  signs  was  pro 
portionate  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  it,— the  central 
streets  being  of  course  the  most  dangerous  localities  in 
which  to  "  work,"  and  the  signs  nearest  the  police  head 
quarters  the  ones  most  eagerly  desired.  Lamps  are 
oftener  smashed  by  Sophomores  or  other  upper-class 
men  than  by  Freshmen.  Those  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
colleges,  especially,  are  apt  to  be  broken  pretty  con 
stantly  by  snow  balls  in  the  winter  time,  and  do  not  fare 
much  better  at  other  seasons.  Blowing  them  to  pieces 
with  fire-crackers  is  a  common  diversion  as  Fourth  of 
July  approaches.  One  particular  lamp,  on  High  street, 
back  of  the  Library,  is  notably  unfortunate.  The  glass 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  265 

is  seldom  allowed  to  remain  in  it  whole  for  twenty-four 
successive  hours.  Frequenters  of  the  gymnasium  prac 
tice  upon  it  as  a  target  Not  content  with  smashing  the 
glass,  its  enemies  have  at  times  lugged  off  the  lamp 
frame  bodily,  and  suspended  it  in  the  college  yard,  at 
the  same  time  breaking  off  the  burner,  and  setting  fire 
to  the  direct  stream  of  gas.  Several  years  ago,  the  post 
itself  was  blown  up  with  gunpowder,  and  the  gas  from 
the  main  pipe  ignited,  thereby  raising  an  alarm  of  fire. 
It  was  a  year  or  two  before  the  post  was  replaced,  but 
as  the  same  old  practice3  have  been  renewed,  the 
powers-that-be  would  probably  consult  their  own  interest 
if  they  again  discontinued  it,  and  left  that  unrighteous 
locality  again  in  the  dark.  The  present  plan  of  having 
the  lamp  guarded  constantly  by  a  policeman  only  aggra 
vates  its  misfortunes. 

Freshmen,  though  they  do  not  institute,  at  least  take 
part  in  and  pay  for  the  "  Thanksgiving  Jubilee,"  which 
celebration  may  therefore  appropriately  find  a  place  in 
this  chapter.  It  is  managed  by  a  committee  of  sixteen, 
— four  from  each  class,  half  of  whom  are  appointed  by 
Linonia  and  half  by  Brothers, — and  is  held  first  in  the 
hall  of  one  society  and  then  in  that  of  the  other  in  alter 
nate  years.  The  freshman  committee-men  solicit  sub 
scriptions — a  dollar  or  less  being  the  amount  ordinarily 
expected — to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  exhibition,  and 
when  these  are  paid  in  to  the  upper-class  committee- 
men  the  Freshmen  receive  in  return  admission  tickets 
to  the  show.  Armed  with  these  they  assemble  in  front 
of  Alumni  Hall  on  the  night  appointed,  some  time  before 
half-past  seven,  when  it  is  announced  that  the  doors 
will  be  open,  each  one  eager  to  have  a  first  chance  at 
the  seats.  Perhaps  while  clamoring  for  admission  they 
notice  that  no  upper-class  men  are  to  be  seen  about  the 
entrance,  and  wonder  that  the  "  managers  "  within  are 

'3 


266  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

able  to  produce  such  an  uproar.  Half-past  seven.  The 
doors  fly  open  ;  there  are  no  ticket-takers  ;  up  rush  the 
Freshmen  to  the  hall.  Dismay  fills  them  as  they  enter 
it,  for  it  is  crowded  already !  Across  one  end  is 
stretched  a  stage,  with  drop-curtain  and  footlights. 
Close  to  this,  on  comfortuble  settees,  are  ranged  the 
Seniors  with  their  invited  guests  from  among  the  recent 
alumni ;  behind  them  are  the  Juniors ;  then  the  Sopho 
mores,  upon  wooden  benches,  or  standing ;  and  close 
to  the  furthest  wall  the  few  empty  benches  left  for  the 
Freshmen  !  These  are  filled  in  an  instant,  and  still  the 
crowd  surges  up  from  below.  The  rear  men,  not  un 
derstanding  the  state  of  the  case,  press  resistlessly  up 
ward,  and  the  jam  becomes  terrific.  Freshmen  cling  to 
the  window-sills,  hang  from  the  door-casings,  stick  in 
some  way  to  every  inch  of  projecting  surface  that  can  be 
made  to  furnish  a  foothold,  and  sway  to  and  fro  under 
the  impetus  of  new  arrivals.  Nor  is  the  rabble  made 
up  altogether  [of  Freshmen.  Sophomores  or  other 
upper-class  men,  ignorant  of  the  approved  way  of  gain 
ing  access  to  the  hall,  or  coming  too  late  to  profit  by  it, 
members  of  the  professional  schools  and  other  outsiders, 
struggle  and  pant  with  the  rest,  or  desperately  attempt 
to  work  their  way  through  the  solid  mass  of  humanity, 
and  join  their  friends  at  the  front.  A  private  stair 
case  in  the  rear  of  the  hall  is  the  portal  through  which 
the  Seniors,  and  the  initiated  generally,  are  always  ad 
mitted, — to  the  surprise  and  confusion  of  the  rabble. 
Awaiting  the  rise  of  the  curtain,  the  seated  portion  of 
the  audience  smoke,  sing,  yell  at  the  Fresh  to  make  less 
noise,  suddenly  rise  up  to  see  what  the  matter  is  in  the 
rear,  and  sit  down  without  finding  out,  discuss  the  pro-  ' 
gramme, — which  is  distributed  by  being  flung  in  hand- 
fuls  about  the  hall,  thereby  adding  to  the  confusion  of 
the  rabble,  who  fight  desperately  to  secure  the  copies  as 
they  fall, — and  othenvise  divert  themselves. 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  267 

At  last  the  rising  curtain  reveals  several  Seniors  upon 
the  stage,  and  one  of  the  committee  announces  that  the 
first   thing  in  order   is   the   election   of  officers   from 
among  the  Freshmen, — their  shortest   man   to  be  the 
president,  and  their  longest  the  secretary,  of  the  meet 
ing, — and  calls  upon  the  audience  to  present  the  candi 
dates.     The  crowd  at  once  springs  to  its  feet,  with  a  wild 
shriek  of"  Pass  him  up  !  "  and  two  or  three  short  Fresh 
men  are  rolled  over  the  heads  of  the  audience,  on  to  the 
stage,  where  they  are  stretched  out  upon  their  backs, 
and  a  gigantic  measuring  stick,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
long,   applied  to   them.     "The   shortest"  is  then  an 
nounced  by  name  as  president,  and  his  "  hight "  is  men 
tioned  in  some  absurd  way  as  being  so  many  "  barley 
corns,"  or  "  degrees,"  or  cubit  inches  "  ;  then  the  long 
men  are  passed  up  and  measured  in  the  same  manner, 
and  the  one  chosen  is  said  to  be  so  many  "  millimetres  " 
or  "square  miles"  long;  after  which  both  "officers" 
are  put  off  the  stage  and  left  to  shift  for  themselves  in 
finding  seats  or  standing  places  again.     As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  shortest  Freshman  and  the  longest  one,  hearing 
of  this  practice  beforehand,  often   stay  away  from  the 
meetings,  at  least  till  after  the  officers  are  chosen ;  so 
that  the  men  really  measured  upon  the  stage  are  often 
about  of  the  average  size.     The  main  thing,  however,  is 
to  "keep  up  the  custom,"  and  so  long  as  this  is  done 
in  theory,  the  practice   makes   little   difference.     The 
Freshmen  who  are  "  passed  along "  with  such  an  ap 
pearance   of  roughness,  are  not  injured  in  the  process, 
save  'perhaps  as  to   their  wearing  apparel,  which  may 
thereby  become  soiled  and  torn,  and   accept  their  fate 
in  its  true   light,   simply  as   a  joke,  in   which   nothing 
serious  or  degrading  is  intended  by  any  one. 

After  the  "  overture  by  the  orchestra," — a  half  dozen 
professionals  hired  for  the  purpose,  or  an  amateur  band 


268  VQUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

of  college  musicians, — the  first  thing  on  the  programme 
is   the  "opening   load,"   which   is    often    "necessarily 
omitted"  for  some  assigned  reason,  such  as,  "  on  account 
of  the  lateness  of   the   hour   the  load   could   not   be 
opened,"  or  "because  the  faculty  ordered  it  unloaded." 
Then  come  two  or  three  plays,  between  which  are  sand 
wiched  a  comic  oration  and  a  comic  poem,  both  relating 
to  college  life,  and  perhaps  a  display  of  negro  minstrelsy 
ends  up  the  show.     The  names  of  the  committee-men 
.  figure  upon  the  first  page  of  the  programme,  which,  for 
the  rest,  is  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  burlesque,  as 
absurd  and  ludicrous  as  the  ingenuity  and  wit  of  the 
committee  can  devise.     Thus  we  have  the  "  sanguino- 
lently  and  demoniacally  loquacious  pantomimic  repre 
sentation"  ;  "  the  spamodically  pharmaceutical  tragedy"  ; 
the  "mysterious,  Milesian,  medieval,  moral-play";  the 
"savory,  side-splitting  farce" ;   and  so  on.      The  min 
strels,  likewise,  are  "  tenebriously  umbrageous  Stygio- 
Ethiopian,"   or    "  dulcifluously   incanting    ingrescent," 
ones,    or    "American    citizens    of    (corked)    African 
descent."     The  "oration,"  or  "sermon,"  or  "address," 
is  about  "  the  ignitions  combustibility  of  all  corroso-in- 
flammable    matter,"    or  "analytical  mathematics  as    a 
means    of    religious    instruction."      The    poem    is    an 
"  epic-ac  ode,"  or  a  "  dorggerel,"  or  a  "jocular,  jingling 
jumble,  joining  jovial  jests  in  juxtaposition  with  jubilant 
jokes,"  or  is  made  up  of   "'classical  (l)odes."      The 
music  is  by  the  "'first  nine'  Yale  muses,"  or  the  ".Med 
dlesome  society,"  or  the  "  clulce  strainers,"  or  the  "  Yale 
tooters."      The   "finale"  is  omitted  because   a  certain 
"  old  clo'  "  man  "  has  stolen  the  '  close'  of  the  perform 
ance,"  or  is  "  to  be  had  at  Moriarty's  [a  well  known  ale 
seller's]  after  the  show  is  concluded."     "  Gentlemen  are 
requested  to  wipe  their  boots  before  entering  the   hall, 
and  are  particularly  requested  not  to  spit  on  the  backs 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  269 

of  those  who  sit  in  front  of  them."  "  Freshmen  accom 
panied  by  their  mothers  or  nurses,  $i.  Theologues, 
Law  students  and  other  children  admitted  gratis." 
"  Students  taking  seats  are  expected  to  occupy  them  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year,  unless  released  by  the  proper 
authority/'  "  No  two  students  of  different  classes  can 
occupy  the  same  seat,  unless  they  take  a  seat  of  the 
lower  grade  ;  but  if  a  student  has  a  brother,  the  two 
can  sit  on  the  floor  together,  provided  they  don't  let 
their  legs  hang  down."  "  As  the  faculty  request  that  all 
the  students  (Theologues  included)  shall  be  present  at 
the  exercises,  church  papers,  certifying  their  presence 
will  be  required.  The  papers  may  be  handed  to  the  col 
lege  carpenter."  "  Members  of  the  incoming  class  will 
find  seats  as  soon  as  possible."  "  No  one  allowed  to  be 
high  except  the  secretary."  "  Photographs  of  the  lead 
ing  artists  can  be  obtained  at  303  Chapel  street.  Price 
$2.50  per  dozen."  The  "point"  of  many  of  these  titles 
and  "  notices"  of  course  lies  in  their  fatuousness,  and 
utter  want  of  connection  with  the  things  to  which  they 
are  joined.  The  show  takes  place  the  Tuesday  before 
Thanksgiving,  and  is  three  hours  or  more  in  length. 

Thus,  the  Jubilee  as  it  existed  during  '69*3  "four years 
at  Yale."  Now,  as  to  its  earlier  and  later  history. 
Originally  it  was  called  "Thanksgiving  Eve"  and 
always  took  place  upon  that  Wednesday  night.  In  the 
old  times,  when  Linonia  and  Brothers  were  something 
more  than  "  institutions,"  the  attendance  upon  their 
meetings  of  that  evening  was  smaller  than  usual,  owing 
to  the  absence  of  those  who  had  gone  home  to  celebrate 
Thanksgiving.  Hence  the  custom  arose  of  giving  a 
burlesque  character  to  the  proceedings.  The  shortest 
Freshman  was  put  in  the  president's  chair,  and  the 
longest  one  at  the  secretary's  table,  and  the  meeting  pro 
ceeded  under  their  auspices,  instead  of  those  of  the  reg- 


27°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ular  upper-class  officials.  In  place  of  a  formal  debate, 
was  held  a  "  raffle" :  a  number  of  "  questions,"  mostly 
of  a  bombastic  or  nonsensical  character,  were  thrown 
together  in  one  hat ;  the  names  of  those  in  attendance 
in  another  ;  and  each  man  was  obliged  to  speak  upon 
the  question  drawn  out  with  his  name.  The  speakers 
were  expected  to  be  "  funny,"  and  were  usually  only 
foolish, — each  man  consenting  to  make  a  silly  display  of 
himself  for  the  sake  of  witnessing  a  similar  discom 
fiture  of  the  others.  Of  course,  once  in  a  while  a  really 
good  thing  would  be  said  or  a  really  ludicrous  event  take 
place,  but  the  meetings  as  a  whole,  were  described  as 
being  dreary  enough,  spite  of  the  cheers  and  applause 
of  those  who  had  made  up  their  minds  to  appear  amused, 
under  any  circumstances. 

It  was  in  1855  that  the  attempt  was  first  made  to  vary 
this  traditional  celebration.  A  committee  from  that 
society  was  appointed  to  make  preparations  in  Linonia, 
and  Brothers  was  invited  to  attend  the  show.  "  When 
the  eventful  night  came,  we  had  Linonia  hall  filled.  Our 
stage  was  the  vacant  space  west  of  the  president's  desk, 
our  green  room  was  Calliope  hall,  our  wardrobe,  some 
old  hats,  shawls,  and  coats  gathered  in  college,  and  a 
skirt,  cap,  veil,  etc.,  from  some  garret  in  town.  The 
performance  consisted  of  such  personations  as  Widow 
Bedott's  '  'Kiah,  we're  all  poor  creeters.'  The  man  with 
forty  ailments,  who 'was  '  pooty  well,  thank'ee,  heow 
deu  yeou  deu.'  &  The  trial  of  the  case  '  Bullum  vs. 
Boatem.'  '  The  Suppression  of  the  Press.'  The  Yan 
kee  that  was  courtin'  Betsy  Jane,  but  was  '  as  well  as 
usual.'  We  had,  too,  the  Yankee  Orator,  one  to  speak, 
one  to  gesture  ;  and  if  anyone  had  a  good  song  or  act, 
was  known  to  have  hit  off  any  good  point  in  play  or  char 
ade,  he  was  called  for  with  cries  of  immense  encourage 
ment  and  prevailing  force,  after  the  manner  of  college 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  2  7 1 

audiences,  and  then  he  was  applauded,  as  you  would 
expect  by  a  company  bound  to  make  the  best  and 
most  of  everything.  The  performances  had  almost  en 
tirely  an  extemporaneous  cast,  some  parts  were  entirely 
off-hand,  and  for  that  very  reason  all  charity  was  ex 
tended  to  the  actors,  and  the  three  hours  were  closed 
with  the  feeling  that  we  had  succeeded  and  redeemed 
the  evening." 

The  next  year  a  joint  committee  was  appointed  from 
each  society,  and  the  show  was  held  in  Brothers  hall ; 
and  so  it  has  since  gone  on,  first  in  one  hall,  then  in  the 
other.  A  shortest  and  a  longest  Freshman  from  each 
society  were  chosen  presidents  and  secretaries  and  seated 
in  the  president's  desk.  Then  there  were  two  presi 
dents  and  one  secretary.  Finally,  as  now,  a  single  one 
of  each,  without  distinction  of  societies,  although  seats 
were  always  provided  for  them.  Negro  minstrels  ex 
hibited  for  the  first  time  at  this  Eve  of  '56,  and  among 
other  things  was  a  "  living  bass-viol  "  impersonated  by 
the  largest  man  in  the  senior  class.  "  '  Somebody's ' 
clothes-line,  run  three  or  four  times  from  his  neck  to  his 
feet,  made  the  strings  ;  a  cigar  box  made  the  bridge  ; 
his  own  ears,  the  keys.  The  performer  walked  in  his 
instrument,  tuned  it  up,  and  beginning  to  play,  the 
huge  yet  flexible  voice  of  the  '  machine '  produced  the 
sounds  which  were  supposed  to  be  the  tones  of  the  viol. 
This  was  a  success,  especially  when,  in  the  midst  of  a 
brilliant  passage,  the  instrument  collapsed  and  was  carried 
out.  Another  thing  was  the  Hutchinson  family  intensi 
fied.  Another  was  the  celebrated  lecture  on  the  won 
derful  Gyascutus  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which 
wound  up  with  a  leap  which  overwhelmed  in  utter  con 
fusion  all  the  audience  nearest  the  stage."  In  '57  the 
stage  for  the  first  time  reached  across  the  end  of  the 
hall.  The  "  scenery  "  was  made  of  strips  of  blue  cam- 


272  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

brie,  and  the  different  localities  were  represented  by 
placards  hung  upon  the  same,  as  "  Forest  Scene,"  "  In 
side  the  Castle,"  and  so  on.  "  One  of  the  most  striking 
performances  of  the  evening  was  a  solo  by  prima  donna 
*  Bob  '  Stiles.  His  magnificent  bust  and  arms,  the  pride 
of  the  gymnasium,  were  powdered  and  cosmeticated, 
and  set  off  by  a  low-necked,  short-sleeved  concert  dress. 
This  dress  —  black  cambric,  shining  like  satin,  over 
hoops  eighteen  feet  in  circumference — was  engineered 
through  the  door,  when  '  Bob,'  the  biggest  man  in  the 
class,  was  led  in  by  Watkins,  the  littlest  man.  His  solo 
began  with  a  delicately-trilled  falsetto,  set  off  with  the 
most  languishing  attitudes,  and  wound  up  suddenly 
with  a  stentorian  double  bass,  which  woke  the  most  en 
thusiastic  responsive  cheer.  The  performance  of  that 
night  held  the  audience  in  well-nigh  continuous  laughter 
for  four  hours."  In  1860,  mention  is  first  made  of  a 
printed  programme,  of  the  "  opening  load,"  of  the  "  cen 
sor's  report,"  and  of  the  name  Thanksgiving  Jubilee, 
which  has  since  been  applied  to  the  show.  The  "cen 
sor  "  was  a  Senior,  appointed  by  the  committee,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  get  off  personal  "hits  "  at  the  expense  of 
his  auditors,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  class 
historians  on  Presentation  Day,  and  decree  the  infliction 
of  absurd  "  fines  "  for  real  or  pretended  offences.  He 
was  wont  to  "  touch  up  "  a  good  many  Seniors,  quite  a 
number  of  Juniors,  some  Sophomores,  and  the  few 
Freshmen  who  had  chanced  in  the  space  of  a  term  to 
make  a  college  reputation  of  some  sort.  His  "  report  " 
was  read  from  an  immense  roll,  a  good  many  feet  in 
length,  "  and  in  time  came  to  be  considered  Hie  feature 
of  the  entertainment." 

Thus  the  silly  inanities  of  "  Thanksgiving  Eve,"  in 
vented  for  the  amusement  of  the  unfortunates  who  lin 
gered  about  the  college,  grew,  in  the  ten  years'  interval, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  $1$ 

to  be  the  "Jubilee"  known  to  '69  men,  held  in  season 
to  be  enjoyed  by  those  who  spent  Thanksgiving  abroad 
equally  with  the  ones  who  stayed  behind.  Thus,  little 
by  little,  it  lost  its  impromptu  character,  and  became 
more  formal.  The  tendency  to  introduce  smut  and  vul 
garity  also  grew  apace,  until  it  culminated  in  1865  in 
the  production  of  an  indecent  farce, — the  "  parts  "  of 
which  were  all  sustained  by  Sophomores, — and  a  cen 
sor's  report  that  was  little  better.  The  faculty,  hearing 
of  the  matter,  suspended  the  offenders,  and  next  year 
decreed  that  no  female  characters  should  be  represented 
upon  the  stage  at  the  Jubilee.  They  offered  the  com 
mittee,  under  certain  restrictions,  the  use  of  Alumni 
Hall,  but  the  offer  was  not  accepted,  and  for  the  first 
time  since  the  custom  was  inaugurated  the  Jubilee  was 
abandoned.  The  money  obtained  from  the  Freshmen 
for  defraying  the  expenses  went  to  pay  for  a  supper  for 
the  upper-class  committee-men.  Next  year,  the  pro 
hibition  of  woman's  apparel  being  still  insisted  on,  the 
"  female  "  characters  evaded  the  rule  by  the  employment 
of  a  sort  of  Turkish  costume  that  served  equally  well 
to  distinguish  them.  Since  then  the  restrictions  have 
been  disregarded  altogether  ;  but  the  censor's  report 
has  never  been  revived. 

At  the  Thanksgiving  of  1869  a  new  policy  was 
adopted  in  regard  to  the  celebration.  An  elaborate 
stage  was  erected  in  the  south  end  of  Alumni  Hall,  and 
fitted  up  with  scenery  and  "  properties  "  from  the  city 
theater.  Raised  seats  and  settees  were  at  the  opposite 
end,  and  the  usual  benches  filled  the  intermediate 
space.  On  these  sat  the  classes  in  order,,  Seniors 
nearest  the  stage,  Freshmen  in  the  rear,  while  the  re 
served  seats  behind  were  occupied  by  ladies  and  their 
attendants, — the  admission  of  the  former  being  the 
novel  feature  of  the  show.  A  regular  admission  fee  of 

13* 


2-74  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  quarter  dollar  was  charged  each  person,  and  double 
that  amount  was  required  for  a  reserved  seat.  The 
specially-engraved  tickets  bore  a  representation  of  a 
turkey.  Formal  steel-plate  invitations  to  the  entertain 
ment  were  also  issued.  The  hall,  of  more  than  twice 
the  capacity  of  the  society-halls,  was  crowded,  without 
being  jammed  as  in  days  agone,  —  all  but  the  latest 
comers  securing  seats  of  some  sort.  Save  for  the 
absence  of  tobacco  smoke  and  freshman  wranglings, 
the  character  of  the  show  was  like  that  of  its  predeces 
sors.  The  opening  load,  entitled  "  the  perfect  stick," 
represented  a  gigantic  glue  bottle.  The  cost  of  the  en 
tertainment  was  $300,  and  the  receipts  fell  $50  short 
of  that  sum.  The  expenses  of  any  previous  Jubilee  had 
never  exceeded  a  third  the  first  named  amount. 

Last  year  the  Jubilee  was  for  a  second  time  omitted, 
— the  appointed  committee  being  unwilling  to  engage 
in  the  work  on  the  conditions  offered  by  the  faculty  : 
that  the  exhibition  should  be  held  in  one  of  the  society 
halls,  that  there  should  be  no  "  female"  characters  in  the 
plays,  and  that  the  committee  should  be  held  individ 
ually  responsible  for  any  violations  of  order  or  decorum. 
The  fate  of  the  institution  in  the  future  seems  uncer 
tain,  but  if  revived  at  all  it  will  probably  be  in  its  older 
rather  than  latest  form  ;  for,  though  that  experiment 
was  in  its  way  an  admitted  success,  there  is  a  general 
sentiment  against  opening  the  exhibition  to  outsiders, 
especially  to  ladies,  as  a  process  tending  to  make  the 
show  more  formal  and  expensive,  and  to  deprive  it  of 
its  characteristic  and  peculiar  flavor,  as  a  jolly  gather 
ing  where  the  undergraduate  sense  of  fun  is  allowed 
free  vent,  in  the  presence  of  those  alone  who  compre 
hend  and  appreciate  it.  If  the  general  public  be  ad 
mitted,  stiffness  and  formality  will  come  with  them ; 
their  tastes  will  have  to  be  catered  to  ;  their  presence 


THE  .9  TUDENT  LIFE.  275 

will  put  the  college  men  on  their  good  behavior ;  and 
the  old  heartiness  and  abandon,  the  careless  mingling 
of  all  the  classes  in  an  evening's  joviality,  which  made 
the  Jubilee  unique  among  college  celebrations,  will  soon 
disappear  altogether.  So  say  the  opponents  of  reform, 
and  their  case  seems  a  strong  one.  Alumni  Hall  may 
wisely  be  retained  as  the  place  of  meeting  hereafter, 
and  all  undergraduates  taxed  equally  in  support  of  the 
exhibition.  But  it  is  a  gratuitous  assumption  to  suppose 
that  the  students,  left  to  themselves,  will  act  disgrace 
fully,  or  that  a  repetition  of  the  indecencies  of  1865  can 
only  be  prevented  by  the  presence  of  ladies  at  the 
Jubilee. 

With  Presentation  Day  the  Seniors  close  their  active 
connection  with  the  college,  and  at  chapel  prayers  the 
following  morning  the  Juniors  occupy  their  vacated 
seats  ;  the  Sophomores  take  those  of  the  Juniors,  and 
the  Freshmen  those  of  the  Sophomores,  where  in  old 
times  the  latter  were  wont  to  leave  upright  pins,  chalk 
dust,  bits  of  pitch,  and  things  of  that  sort,  for  the  ben 
efit  and  improvement  of  their  successors.  About  the 
year  1850,  the  custom  arose  among  the  Freshmen  of  cel 
ebrating  their  accession  to  sophomoric  dignity  by  a  per 
formance  called  a  "  Pow-wow,"  upon  the  night  of  Pres 
entation  Day.  It  was  held  upon  the  State  House  steps, 
and  consisted  of  burlesque  speeches,  songs  and  poems, 
in  glorification  of  the  performers  and  ridicule  of  the 
class  above  them,  and  the  unpopular  tutors  from  whose 
reign  they  were  soon  to  be  set  free.  The  Sophomores 
attended  and  endeavored — by  mock  applause,  cheers 
and  outcries — to  drown  the  voices  of  the  speakers  ;  and 
the  Freshmen  in  turn,  by  a  deafening  blast  of  tin  horns, 
would  overwhelm  these  sophomoric  interruptions.  Be 
tween  the  two,  little  could  be  heard  of  the  speakers' 
remarks,  which,  like  the  printed  programmes,  were 


276  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

intended  to  be  sharp  and  witty,  but  were  oftener  vulgar 
and  indecent.  Among  the  " subjects"  and  "speakers" 
at  one  of  the  best  of  the  Pow-wows  were  :  "  Salute-a-tory, 
by  a  Big  W(h)ig,"  "  Poem,  '  Pipes,'  by  a  Broken  Reed,'' 
"  Stump  Speech,  by  a  Wood-be  DeForest,"  and  "  Expect 
Oration,  by  one  who  chews-es."  This  description  of  the 
Pow-wow  in  1857  will  apply  well  enough  to  them  all: 
"  About  nine  o'clock,  blasts  from  sundry  tin  horns  in 
the  freshman  quarters  reminded  the  weary  and  sleeping 
that  Presentation  Day  'wasn't  dead  yet.'  As  it  grew 
later  and  darker,  Freshmen,  covered  as  to  their  faces 
with  burnt-cork,  Freshmen  with  striped  pants,  Freshmen 
with  hooped  skirts,  Freshmen  with  hoofs  and  tails,  mild 
Freshmen  with  coats  turned  inside  out,  fierce  Freshmen 
with  big  beards  and  bob-tailed  trainer-coats,  Freshmen 
with  bears'  heads,  and  Freshmen  with  bare  heads — in 
fine,  Freshmen  with  all  sorts  of  conceivable  and  practi 
cable  disguises,  each  one  armed  with  a  banger  as  big  as 
he  could  lift,  and  a  tin  horn  as  big  as  he  could  blow, 
issued  from  their  rooms,  and  marching  sternly  across  the 
college-yard,  assembled  at  the  State  House  steps,  for 
the  purpose  of  celebrating  their  entrance  into  sopho 
more  year.  After  orating,  in  spite  of  the  noisy  Sopho 
mores,  who  kept  up  a  continual  shouting  of  '  Hear !  ' 
c  Hear  !  '  '  Good  ! '  '  Time  for  you,  Fresh,  to  be  in  bed  !' 
and  sundry  other  equally  entertaining  and  witty  remarks, 
they  sang  a  Greek  song  that  looked  quite  natural,  and 
then  formed  the  procession.  The  boarding  schools 
were  serenaded  as  usual,  only  one,  however,  acknowledg 
ing  the  compliment.  At  half  past  two  in  the  morning 
squads  of  muddy  Freshmen  crossed  the  college-green, 
and  disappeared  among  the  brick  buildings,  there  to 
dream  for  an  hour  or  two  of  hobgoblins,  Greek  songs, 
mud-puddles,  serenades,  fair  faces,  morning  flunk,  and 
dunning  Pow-wow  committees." 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  277 

Like  other  things  of  the  sort,  the  ceremony  became 
year  by  year  more  elaborate.  A  band  of  music  was  en 
gaged,  the  place  of  meeting  was  lit  up  by  blue  lights  and 
fireworks,  transparencies  were  carried  in  the  procession, 
and  more  grotesque  and  costly  disguises  made  use  of. 
But  the  excesses  of  Pow-wow  brought  it  under  the  ban 
of  the  faculty,  and  that  of  the  class  of  '66,  the  last  one 
ever  projected,  had  to  be  given  up.  Next  year  the 
threat  to  expel  two  thirds  of  the  class  prevented  even 
the  attempt  at  its  revival,  and  it  has  never  since  been 
heard  of  at  the  college.  In  1864,  however,  the  Fresh 
men  "  celebrated,"  at  a  certain  hour  of  Presentation 
Day,  by  "  marching  up  and  down  Chapel  street  as  a 
body-guard  to  '  Hannibal,'  the  college  candy-man,  who, 
attired  in  a  scholar's  habit,  a  huge  book  under  his  arm, 
a  pair  of  eye-glasses  over  his  nose,  one  of  the  new  red 
biennial  caps  of  the  Sophomores  upon  his  head,  and  a 
sporting  cane  in  his  hand,  was  personating  the  high  feel 
ings  of  the  newly  fledged  Juniors  as  well  as  any  negro 
could." 

As  the  "  Biennial"  was  superseded  by  the  "  Annual" 
examinations,  so  the  "  Biennial  caps"  gave  way  to  "An 
nual  caps,"  and  the  "  Biennial  Jubilee"  found  a  successor 
in  the  "  Annual  Dinner."  On  the  morning  of  Presenta 
tion  Day  the  Freshmen  now  assume  their  Annual  hats. 
These  are  of  the  well  known  "  Oxford"  pattern — ahead- 
piece  fitting  close  to  the  skull,  surmounted  by  a  stiff 
square,  with  a  tassel  depending  from  the  corner  on  the 
left  side.  Each  class  varies  the  color.  The  cap  of  '69 
was  blue  with  white  tassel,  that  of  '70  was  white,  that 
of  '68  mouse- color,  and  the  red  cap  of  '66  has  been 
already  noted ;  before  that,  a  sort  of  wicker-work  had 
been  sometimes  employed.  The  nine  committee-men 
wear  hats  of  velvet  with  tassels  of  gilt,  and  so  bargain 
with  the  hatter  that  these  cost  them  nothing,  their  price 


278  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

being  made  up  to  him  by  his  charging  a  higher  rate  for 
the  common  kind  sold  to  the  class.  The  members  of 
the  committe  also  wear,  as  a  badge  of  office,  tiny  forks 
of  gold,  inscribed  "  Annual"  with  the  numeral  of  the 
class.  For  these  they  are  themselves  supposed  to  pay. 
A  freshman  committee-man  of  the  class  of  '69  has  the 
credit  of  making  this  addition  to  collegiate  insignia. 
The  hats  are  worn  from  the  time  of  assuming  them 
until  the  close  of  the  examinations,  especially  during 
the  progress  of  the  latter ;  though  of  late  the  examina 
tions  open  within  a  few  days  of  Presentation,  instead  of 
after  a  three  weeks'  interval,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
time  when  "  Biennials"  and  Biennial  hats  were  in  vogue. 

The  last  session  of  freshman  "  Annual"  closes  at  noon 
of  the  Thursday  before  Commencement.  An  hour  or 
two  later,  the  emancipted  Fresh  assemble  in  the  college 
yard,  and  led  off  by  a  band  of  music, — after  serenading 
and  cheering  their  division  officers,  or  the  most  popular 
ones, — file  down  Chapel  street  to  the  railway  station  or 
steamboat  dock,  and  there  embark  on  car  or  boat  for 
some  one  of  the  many  sea-side  resorts — like  Savin  Rock, 
or  Branford  Point,  or  Charles  Island — which  lie  about 
New  Haven  ;  singing  on  the  way  the  songs  of  jubilation 
which  have  been  written  and  printed  for  the  occasion,  or 
giving  forth  the  old-time  melodies  with  which  they  are 
more  familiar.  Arrived  at  the  appointed  locality,  while 
the  committee  bustle  about  to  see  that  nothing  be  lack 
ing  to  the  "  perfect  feast"  for  which  they  had  previously 
made  the  arrangements,  and  the  band  plays  a  lively 
strain,  and  the  denizens  of  the  hotel  gaze  in  wonder  at 
the  new  comers,  one  of  the  chief  actors  of  the  day— 
"  the  historian  of  the  first  division" — is  arranging  his 
manuscripts  and  clearing  his  throat,  in  readiness  for  the 
fulfilment  of  his  duty. 

At  length  a  table  is  set  up  under  the  trees,  the  Fresh- 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  279 

men  lie  upon  the  ground  in  a  circle  around  it,  the  histo 
rian  doffs  his  hat  and  mounts  his  improvised  rostrum, 
and  the  reading  begins.  A  "  class  history"  is  nothing 
unless  "  funny."  The  committee  select  from  each  divis 
ion  the  one  whom  they  consider  its  wittiest  man  (latterly 
the  division  itself  elects  him),  and  he  compiles  a  "his 
tory"  of  his  fellows,  wherein  he  attempts  the  rather  dif 
ficult  task  of  "  touching  up"  their  individual  peculiari 
ties,  "in  a  way  to  afford  amusement  to  all,  and  offense 
to  none."  Ludicrous  blunders  in  the  recitation  room, 
absurd  translations  from  Greek  or  Latin  authors,  impos 
sible  demonstrations  of  Euclid's  problems,  all  the  laugh 
able  mishaps  of  a  year  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  Freshmen, 
are  carefully  collected  by  the  historians,  and  "set  off"  in 
as  "taking"  a  style  as  they  chance  to  be  masters  of. 
Everything  depends  upon  the  manner  of  telling  a  comic 
story,  and  if  the  historian  is  fit  for  his  place,  he  keeps 
his  auditors  in  a  constant  roar  of  laughter  to  the  very- 
last  word  of  his  narrative.  At  its  close,  whether  good 
or  bad,  "  three  times  three"  cheers  are  given  for  the  his 
torian,  and  as  many  more  for  the  division  he  represents. 
The  history  devotes  particular  attention  to  the  exploits 
of  those  who  have  been  dropped  or  suspended  from  the 
class,  and  these  former  members  who  are  present, — and 
there  usually  are  some  such — are  forced,  after  their  "his 
tories"  have  been  read,  to  mount  the  table  and  "  make 
a  speech"  in  response,  which  speech  is  always  vocifer 
ously  applauded  by  the  others.  The  same  process  is 
also  gone  through  with  in  the  case  of  any  one  in  regard 
to  whom  anything  particularly  "  good"  (which  may  often 
mean  "bad")  happens  to  be  related,  or  from  whom 
"  something  funny"  is  likely  to  be  elicited. 

The  reading  of  one  or  more  histories  having  been 
finished,  the  crowd  sit  down  to  the  dinner.  There  are 
special  bills-of-fare;  adorned  with  the  names  of  the  class 


280  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

and  its  committee,  and  the  fare  itself  is  something  won 
derful.  Course  succeeds  course,  and  is  partaken  of  with 
a  relish  and  gusto  never  before  experienced.  The  joy 
ous  feeling  of  relief  from  the  long-dreaded  bugbear  of 
examination  gives  a  zest  to  the  entertainment  that  noth 
ing  else  could  afford.  All  sorts  of  "  sentiments  "  are 
offered  and  accepted  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  and 
"  cheers  "  are  given  for  every  body  and  every  thing  that 
can  be  imagined.  Lemonade,  with  or  without  the  claret, 
is  the  strongest  potable  usually  upon  the  bill,  and  those 
in  want  of  something  more  ardent  order  it  at  their  own 
expense.  Quite  a  number  become  exhilarated  thereby, 
but  only  a  few,  an4  sometimes  none,  get  so  much  the 
worse  for  liquor  as  to  lose  their  self-command,  and  re 
quire  the  attention  of  their  comrades  on  the  homeward 
way.  During  or  after  the  repast  the  remaining  histories 
are  read,  and  then  come  singing,  and  music  and  danc 
ing — in  which  last  the  maidens  from  the  hotel  may  be 
induced  to  take  part,  or  a  "  stag  party "  of  students 
alone  enter  into  it.  Finally  the  class  ride  back  to  the 
city  on  their  special  train  or  steamboat,  and  arriving 
there  at  midnight  or  later,  perhaps  serenade  and  cheer 
their  tutors  once  more,  and  elicit  "speeches"  in 
acknowledgment,  or  sing  a  final  song  or  two,  and  then, 
dismissing  the  band,  join  in  one  loud  cheer  for  the  class 
and  the  day,,  and  retire  to  rest.  So  ends  the  first  year 
of  the  four. 

The  last  Biennial  Jubilee — that  of  the  class  of  '67  : 
and  the  first  Annual  Dinner — that  of  the  class  of  '68— 
took  place  upon  the  same  year,  1865,  and  within  a  day 
or  two  of  each  other.  Except  that  it  was  held  at  the 
end  of  sophomore  instead  of  freshmen  year,  the  Jubilee 
was  in  all  respects  like  the  Dinner  that  has  been 
described — though  the  reading  of  class  histories  was  a 
feature  first  introduced  by  the  latter.  It  was  said  to  be 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  281 

a  custom   to  invite  to  each  Jubilee  the  committee  who 
who  had  served  the  class  above  on  a  like  occasion,  but 
the  '69  men  distinctly  voted  that  the  '68  committee  be 
not  invited  to  their  Dinner,  and  the  old  practice  has  not 
since  been  revived.     As  already  stated,  politics  usually 
interfere  in  this  celebration.     Unless  all  the  actual  and 
possible  societies  have  what  they  consider  "their  share" 
of  the  committee-men  and  historians,  there  is  hard  feel 
ing,  and  perhaps  a  "split"   also.     In  the   class  of  '67 
the  members  and  adherents  of  one  junior  society  held 
the  Jubilee  in  one  place,  those  of  the  other  two  in  an 
other.     The  Freshmen  of  '70,  though  having  no  junior 
politics,   were    nevertheless    able,  by   the    exclusion    of 
Gamma  Nu  men  from  the  committee,  to  arouse  ill-will 
enough  to  keep  all  members  of  that  society,  and  a  good 
many  others,  from  the  Dinner.     Their  successors  of  '71, 
over  a  curious  wrangle  in  which  all  the  societies  of  the 
first  three  years  were  in  some  way  concerned,  divided, 
like  the  men  of  '67,  and  went  half  one  way  and  half  the 
other.     Each  of  the  two  factions  also  adopted  its  own 
style  of  Annual  cap.     Before  setting  out  for  their  differ 
ent  destinations,  on  the  day  of  the  Dinner,  they  joined 
together  in  giving  their  instructors  the  customary  sere 
nades  and  cheers.     Next  year,  the  Freshmen  gave  up 
the  Dinner  entirely,  and   not  more   than  half  of  them 
procured  Annual  hats.     Last  year,  though  a  committee 
was  appointed,  it  was  decided  to  indulge  in  neither  hats 
nor  Dinner  ;  but  the  present  year,  the  latter  institution 
will  be  revived   in   all   its  glory,   by  the  Fresh  of  '74. 
Its  .omission   by    the  two  preceding    classes    was    due 
in  some  measure  to  the  freshman  boat  races  against 
Harvard  in  which  they  engaged,  as  many  thought  them 
selves  unable  to  support  the  expenses  of  both  enter 
prises.     As  Presentation  will  hereafter  come  close  upon 
Commencement,  and  follow  rather  than  precede  the  An- 


282 


FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 


nual  examinations,  it  is  likely  that  Annual  hats  will  be 
seen  no  more.  The  wearing  of  them  had  been  growing 
less  and  less  popular,  as  Freshmen  came  to  realize  bet 
ter  the  foolish  expensiveness  of  paying  two  or  three  dol 
lars  for  what  was  of  practical  service  for  but  a  single  after 
noon  ;  and  with  the  sole  remaining  pretext  for  the  "  cus 
tom  "  removed,  there  will  probably  be  no  longer  even 
the  pretense  of  observing  it.  The  Dinner  itself,  how 
ever,  deserves  to  be  perpetuated,  for  when  well  man 
aged  it  may  be  made  the  jolliest  celebration  of  the  col 
lege  course. 

It  is  easy  to  see,  in  all  the  contemptuous  and  abusive 
treatment  of  Freshmen,  mentioned  in  the  present  chap 
ter  and  elsewhere,  an  illustration  of  the  tenacity  with 
which  an  old  tradition  clings  to  a  college,  and  keeps 
alive  there  the  relics  of  a  code  which  has  itself  long 
been  obsolete  and  forgotten.  The  following  quotations 
from  the  laws  which  were  enforced  as  early  as  1760  show 
the  servitude  to  which  the  Freshmen  of  a  century  ago 
were  obliged  to  submit :  "  It  being  the  duty  of  the 
Seniors  to  teach  Freshmen  the  laws,  usages  and  cus 
toms  of  the  college,  to  this  end  they  are  empowered  to 
order  the  whole  freshman  class,  or  any  particular  mem 
ber  of  it,  to  appear,  in  order  to  be  instructed  and 
reproved,  at  such  time  and  place  as  they  shall  appoint ; 
when  and  where  every  Freshman  shall  attend,  answer 
all  proper  questions,  and  behave  decently."  "The 
Freshmen  are  forbidden  to  wear  their  hats  in  the  col 
lege-yard  until  May  vacation ;  nor  shall  they  afterwards 
wear  them  in  college  or  chapel.  No  Freshman  shall 
wear  a  gown,  or  walk  with  a  cane,  or  appear  out  of  his 
room  without  being  completely  dressed,  and  with  his 
hat  j  and  whenever  a  Freshmen  either  speaks  to  a  supe 
rior  or  is  spoken  to  by  one,  he  shall  keep  his  hat  off  un 
til  he  is  bidden  to  put  it  on."  "  A  Freshman  shall 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  28 


not  play  with  any  members  of  an  upper  class,  without 
being  asked  ;  nor  is  he  permitted  to  use  any  acts  of 
familiarity  with  them,  even  in  study  time.  In  case  of 
personal  insult  a  Junior  may  call  up  a  Freshman  and 
reprehend  him.  A  Sophimore  in  like  case  may  obtain 
leave  from  a  Senior,  and  then  he  may  discipline  a  Fresh 
man,  not  detaining  him  more  than  five  minutes,  after 
which  the  Freshman  may  retire,  even  without  being  dis 
missed,  but  must  retire  in  a  respectful  manner." 
"  Freshmen  are  obliged  to  perform  all  reasonable 
errands  for  any  superior,  always  returning  an  account  of 
the  same  to  the  persons  who  send  them.  When  called, 
they  shall  attend  and  give  a  respectful  answer  ;  and 
when  attending  on  their  superior  they  are  not  to  depart 
until  regularly  dismissed.  They  are  responsible  for  all 
damage  done  to  anything  put  in  their  hands  by  way  of 
errand.  They  are  not  obliged  to  go  for  the  undergrad 
uates  in  study-time  without  permission  obtained  from 
the  authority  ;  nor  are  they  obliged  to  go  for  a  graduate 
out  of  the  yard  in  study-time.  A  Senior  may  take  a 
Freshman  from  a  Sophimore,  a  Bachelor  from  a  Junior, 
and  a  master  from  a  Senior.  None  may  order  a  Fresh 
man  in  one  play-time  to  do  an  errand  in  another." 
"  Freshmen  shall  not  run  in  the  college  yard,  nor  up 
and  down  stairs,  nor  call  to  anyone  through  a  college 
window,"  and  so  on. 

As  early  as  1775  attempts  were  made  to  abolish  these 
regulations,  but  "in  1800  we  still  find  it  laid  down  as 
the  Senior's  duty  to  inspect  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  lower  classes  and  especially  of  the  Freshmen ;  and 
as  the  duty  of  the  latter  to  do  any  proper  errand,  not 
only  for  the  authorities  of  the  college,  but  also,  within 
the  limits  of  one  mile,  for  resident  graduates  and  the  two 
upper  classes."  It  was  not  until  1804  that  the  Fresh 
men  were  formally  exempted  from  the  duty  of  running 


284  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

upon  errands.  The  "  lecturing  "  system  was  kept  up  for 
some  years  afterwards.  Professor  Olmsted  of  the  class 
of  1813,  a  few  years  before  his  death  gave  this  account 
of  his  own  experience  of  it : 

"  I  had  scarcely  seated  myself  at  my  study  table,  my 
first  evening  at  college,  when  a  messenger  (whom  I 
afterwards  recognized  as  a  Sophomore)  appeared  at  my 
door.  '  Does  Olmsted  room  here  ? '  said  he,  in  a  very 
confident  and  somewhat  contemptuous  tone.  I  an 
swered  in  the  affirmative.  You  must  go  to  North  Col 
lege,  south  entry,  third  loft,  corner  room,  back  side 
—  the  Seniors  want  you.'  Being  quite  a  stranger 
on  the  ground,  and  the  message  being  delivered  with 
an  affected  volubility,  expressly  designed  to  perplex  a 
Freshman,  I  declared  my  inability  even  to  find  the  room. 
Upon  this  he  repeated  the  same  order  faster  than  before, 
leading  me  still  deeper  in  the  fog.  But  it  was  his  un 
avoidable  duty  '  to  bring  the  Fresh,'  and  so  after  repeated 
efforts  to  get  it  through  my  skull  (upon  the  thickness  of 
which  he  took  occasion  to  remark),  he  said  in  quite  an 
imperious  tone,  *  Come  along,  then — follow  me.'  He 
led  me  through  the  mazes  of  several  dark  college  entries, 
until  at  length  ascending  two  pairs  of  stairs,  he  rapped 
at  the  Senior's  door,  which  was  immediately  opened,  and 
here  ended  his  commission. 

"  The  room  was  so  full  of  smoke,  that  I  could  but 
dimly  descry  the  individuals  of  the  company,  but  plainly 
saw  it  was  filled.  Not  being  myself  a  smoker,  the  air 
of  the  room  agreed  badly  with  my  respiratories,  and  I 
began  first  to  cough,  and  then  to  sneeze,  to  the  infinite 
amusement  of  the  Seniors,  which  the  moderator  checked, 
by  saying  with  all  gravity, '  Gentlemen  will  observe  due 
solemnity  on  this  occasion.'  At  this  moment  a  member 
of  the  class  thrust  his  head  in  at  the  door,  and  exclaimd, 
'Gentlemen,  Professor  Kingsley  says  you  must  teach 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  285 

this  young  gentleman  what's  what,  as  he  knows  nothing 
of  the  world.'  This  was  the  signal  for  commencing 
business  ;  and  the  chairman  remarked,  that  t  he  hoped 
that  gentlemen  would  be  faithful  to  the  trust  committed 
to  them  by  the  government  of  the  college,  and  give  this 
young  man  the  advice  which  he  seemed  so  much  to  need  !' 
Whereupon  the  lectures  began. 

"The  first  speaker  took  up  the  subject  of  Tobacco, 
most  earnestly  advising  me  never  to  form  the  vile  habit 
of  either  chewing  or  smoking — a  piece  of  advice  more 
necessary  to  me,  he  said,  as  it  manifestly  disagreed  with 
my  constitution.  Probably  it  was  the  consciousness  of 
the  ridiculous  figure  I  should  make  if  I  were  to  sneeze 
at  this  moment,  that  actually  set  me  agoing  again,  which 
furnished  a  beautiful  and  practical  application  of  the 
first  lecture.  The  chairman  remarked  that  the  young 
gentleman  would  naturally  expect  from  the  age  and  ex 
perience  of  men  who  had  climbed  the  hill  before  him, 
some  counsel  in  regard  to  his  studies,  and  he  would  call 
on  Mr.  X.,  who,  he  said,  being  so  great  an  adept  (he 
was  one  of  the  poorest  scholars  in  the  class),  could  and 
ought  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  youthful  aspirants. 
Mr.  X.  proceeded  at  once  to  descant,  in  the  most 
pompous  style,  on  the  dignity  of  learning  in  general, 
and  of  the  Greek  language  in  particular,  for  which,  he 
said,  he  had  always  himself  had  a  remarkable  passion. 
Soon,  he  added,  I  should  commence  the  study  of 
Homer,  that  noble  old  bard.  He  would  almost  advise 
me  to  commit  the  whole  of  him  to  memory,  but  as  my 
time  might  not  suffice  for  that,  he  would  indulge 
the  hope  that  I  would  at  least  make  one  lofty  sentiment 
my  own : 

rbv  d'«ftaf*ej^0f4€?0£  ToofTap,  noda?  <wxiv  _7///./.£tv. 
"  The    next    speaker    preferred    against    me  sundry 
charges,  such  as  breaking  windows,  and  running  out  of 


286  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  Chapel  and  dining  hall  before  the  Seniors  ;  the  dan 
gerous  tendency  of  which  irregularities  he  set  forth, 
purely,  as  he  said,  out  of  regard  for  my  good.  And  so 
it  went  on,  until — owing  to  the  taciturnity,  which,  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  previous  direction  of  a  friend,  I  per 
sisted  in  maintaining — the  sport  grew  tiresome  to  the 
Seniors,  and  I  was  dismissed,  with  a  parting  admonition 
to  be  more  careful  with  my  clothing ;  as  my  cap — which 
they  had  purposely  secreted — was  only  brought  to  light 
after  considerable  searching."  A  man  named  Kane,  in 
the  same  class,  was  also  "  brought  before  the  Sanhedrim, 
and  solemnly  warned  not  to  follow  the  course  of  his 
Old  Testament  namesake,  who  was  doubtless  his  an 
cestor  ; "  and  all  the  proceedings  of  the  "  lectures " 
bear  a  strong  family  resemblance  to  those  of  the  modern 
"smokings  out,"  already  described,  into  which  they 
seem  to  have  degenerated. 


CHAPTER    II. 

SOPHOMORE    Y E A  R . 

Rooming  in  College — Drawing  and  Choosing  the  Rooms — Trading 
of  Choices — Rooming  Alone — Packing  an  Entry — Moving — 
Rent— Buying  and  Selling  Furniture — Fuel,  Water  and  Light — 
Sweeps,  Regular  and  Private— Paraphernalia  of  a  Student's 
Room— Its  Self-Invited  Visitors — Candy  Sam,  Hannibal,  Fine 
Day,  and  the  Rest— The  Tricks  Sometimes  Played  upon  Them 
—The  College  Police,  and  the  Extent  of  their  Interference— The 
Charm  of  Dormitory  Life — Sitting  on  the  Fence — Unsuccessful 
Attempt  to  Break  up  the  Practice — Cause  of  the  Failure— Out 
door  Singing — Origin  of  the  Practice,  and  of  the  Songs — Glee 
Clubs,  Cecilia,  and  Beethoven — The  Latter's  connection  with 
the  College  Choir— R.  S.  Willis's  Account  of  it— And  its  First 
Concert — Its  Recent  Character  and  Membership — Concerts  and 
their  Profits — Sophomoric  Abuse  of  Freshmen — Public  Senti 
ment  concerning  It — Areopagus — Nu  Tau  Phi — Omega  Lambda 
Chi  —  A  Mock  Initiation  —  Compromises  with  the  Faculty — 
Burning  the  Coal  Yard — Base  Ball — Yale  against  Harvard — 
The  Record  with  other  College  and  Professional  Clubs — Places 
and  Times  Devoted  to  the  Sport — Entertainment  of  Visitors — 
The  Burial  of  Euclid — As  Described  in  1843 — Fifteen  Years 
Later — Davenport's  Lithograph — The  Last  Celebration  of  the 
Rite — Similar  Ceremonies  Elsewhere. 

It  is  in  sophomore  year  that  the  undergraduates  in 
considerable  numbers  begin  to  occupy  the  college  dor 
mitories  :  the  mode  of  gaining  and  holding  rooms  there 
in  may  therefore  appropriately  be  described  at  this  place. 
The  case  of  the  class  of  '69  will  probably  serve  as  a  fair 
index  of  the  comparative  proportion  of  each  class  room 
ing  in  college  during  the  four  successive  years.  Of 
1 60  Freshmen  in  that  class,  17  roomed  in  college ;  of 
132  Sophomores,  54;  of  128  Juniors,  93  ;  and  of  119 


288  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Seniors,  107.  The  rooms  are  allotted  toward  the  close 
of  the  third  term,  the  "  choices  "  of  course  being  in  the 
order  of  the  classes.  Each  applicant  signs  his  name  to 
a  printed  blank,  which  states  that  he  "on  honor"  in 
tends  to  occupy  a  college  room  during  the  next  year, 
with  a  particular  person  whom  he  names  as  his  chum. 
These  blanks  are  perhaps  distributed,  signed,  and 
handed  in  during  a  session  of  the  annual  examination, 
and  the  announcement  made  by  the  senior  tutor  of  the 
hour  when  he  will  preside  over  the  drawing,  in  some 
designated  recitation  room.  At  the  time  and  place  ap 
pointed  the  interested  parties  assemble  ;  the  names  of 
each  pair  of  chums  are  thrown  into  a  hat  and  well 
shaken  up ;  then  the  first  pair  drawn  have  the  first 
choice,  the  second  the  next,  and  so  on,  until  all  the 
names  or  choices  are  exhausted.  The  senior  tutor 
makes  out  an  official  list  of  the  drawings,  pastes  it  upon 
a  board,  and  hands  it  to  the  pair  at  the  head  of  the 
list.  As  soon  as  they  have  chosen  their  room  they  mark 
its  number  opposite  their  names,  and  hand  the  list  to 
the  ones  next  in  order  ;  and  so  it  goes  on  till  the  last 
pair  have  made  their  selection,  and  handed  the  shingle 
back  to  the  senior  tutor.  These  are  all  to  be  Seniors 
next  term,  and  so  have  had  the  pick  of  all  the  rooms  in 
college,  without  limitation.  Next,  the  senior  tutor  pre 
sides  over  a  drawing  for  the  prospective  Juniors.  The 
number  of  rooms  allowed  their  class  is  limited,  and  so 
a  certain  number  of  unlucky  applicants  fail  to  secure 
any  rooms  at  all.  A  list  of  the  drawings  is  again  made 
out,  and  on  it  are  indicated  the  rooms  already  chosen 
by  the  Seniors.  The  Juniors  having  made  their  selec 
tions,  the  proceedings  in  the  case  of  the  to-be  Sopho 
mores  are  exactly  similar,  except  that  fewer  rooms  are 
allotted  to  their  class,  and  the  number  of  disappointed 
applicants  is  therefore  greater. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  289 

There  is  always  more  or  less  "  trading  of  choices  " 
in  every  class,  after  the  drawing  ;  usually,  of  course, 
before  the  rooms  are  actually  chosen,  though  sometimes 
afterwards.  The  owners  of  the  first  or  second  choice 
may  receive  a  bonus  of  $75  or  even  $100  by  exchang 
ing  it  for  one  of  the  poorer  choices,  and  proportionate 
prices  are  given  for  exchanges  of  choices  less  unequal. 
Choices,  however,  cannot  be  directly  bought  and  sold. 
A  man  who  has  drawn  no  room  at  all  cannot  "  buy  out" 
one  more  fortunate,  since  the  latter  has  pledged  himself 
in  advance  to  "occupy  a  college  room."  Except  for 
this  rule,  men  with  no  intention  of  occupying  them 
could  draw  college  rooms,  and  by  their  speculations  and 
traffic  in  the  same  raise  the  price  of  rent.  No  exchang 
ing  or  trading  of  rooms  is  allowed  between  members  of 
different  classes.  If  an  upper-class  man  rooms  with  a 
member  of  a  class  below  him, — as  a  brother,  a  cousin, 
or  an  old  acquaintance, — he  must  draw  his  room  with 
the  class  to  which  his  chum  belongs.  After  a  man  has 
drawn  a  room,  his  withdrawal  into  a  lower  class  does 
not  deprive  him  of  it ;  neither,  when  one  of  a  pair  who 
have  drawn  a  room  withdraws  from  college  altogether, 
is  a  new  chum  saddled  upon  the  one  who  remains.  The 
latter  can  now  have  the  room  to  himself,  or  can  even 
take  in  a  lower-class  chum  without  causing  complaint. 
When  '69  was  in  college,  the  only  other  way  of  holding 
a  college  room  alone — except  in  special  cases — was  for 
a  man  to  practise  a  greater  or  less  amount  of  deception, 
in  support  of  the  pretense  that  he  had  a  chum, — using 
for  this  purpose  the  name  of  some  accommodating  class  • 
mate  who  occupied  a  room  in  town.  The  latter  was 
accredited  with  a  college  room,  in  the  official  catalogue, 
and  charged  with  the  rent  of  the  same  upon  his  term 
bill;  with  the  money  to  pay  which  rent  the  real  occu 
pant  of  course  supplied  him.  The  number  who  en- 


FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

gaged  in  this  species  of  fraud,  however,  was  not  large, 
and  those  who  insisted  on  rooming  alone  generally  kept 
clear  of  the  college  buildings.  Now,  however,  in  the 
senior  class  at  least,  quite  a  number  are  allowed  to 
occupy  rooms  by  themselves. 

Of  late  years  South  College  has  been  the  u  first 
choice  "  of  the  Seniors,  and  its  three  upper  floors  are 
entirely  taken  up  by  them,  as  are  also  the  two  upper  ones 
of  North,  which  used  to  be  the  favorite.  North  Middle 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  Juniors,  and  in  South  Middle 
may  be  found  representatives  of  all  four  classes,  the 
Freshmen  upon  the  ground  floor.  Sophomores  usuallv 
occupy  nearly  all  the  ground  floor  rooms  of  the  other 
three  colleges  mentioned,  and  some  of  the  rooms  on  the 
fourth  floors  also.  A  front  is  commonly  preferred  to  a 
back,  a  middle  to  a  corner  room  ;  likewise  one  on  the 
second  story  to  one  on  the  third,  on  the  third  to  one 
on  the  fourth,  on  the  fourth  to  one  on  the  first.  The 
proximity  of  a  tutor's  or  professor's  room  is  only  a 
slight  drawback  in  making  a  choice.  Of  course  a 
room's  eligibility  depends  largely  on  the  character  of 
the  crowd  who  are  to  inhabit  a  particular  entry.  In  the 
last  two  years,  especially,  the  attempt  is  always  made  to 
"  pack  "  an  entry,  or  at  least  a  floor  or  two  of  it,  with  a 
congenial  and  harmonious  crowd.  Hence  the  large 
sums  often  given  to  effect  exchanges  of  rooms  which 
are  in  themselves  equally  desirable.  It  sometimes  hap 
pens  that  the  owners  of  a  packed  entry  combine  to  get 
rid  of  the  few  disagreeable  men  quartered  among  them 
by  helping  make  up  the  bonus  whereby  more  desirable 
comrades  may  be  enabled  to  buy  them  out.  Members 
of  a  particular  society  often  agree  to  keep  together  in 
choosing  their  rooms.  In  North  or  South  Middle  you 
may  perhaps  find  one  or  more  floors  of  an  entry  peo 
pled  entirely  with  Psi  II  or  with  DKK  Juniors  :  and 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  2  9 1 

similarly,  in  South  or  North,  you  may  observe  a  half- 
dozen  or  more  Bones  men  or  Keys  men  rooming  in 
close  proximity. 

After  once  occupying  a  college  room  a  man  seldom 
goes  back  to  the  town  again  ;  though  a  Sophomore,  not 
lucky  enough  to  draw  a  junior  room,  is  sometimes  forced 
to  do  it.  This  is  a  hardship  which  should  be  provided 
against  by  a  rule  allowing  such  a  one  to  occupy  his  old 
room  for  a  second  year.  It  is  not  often  the  case  that  a 
man  holds  the  same  college  room  for  two  successive 
years.  He  can  usually  do  it  if  he  chooses,  provided  of 
course  he  has  a  right  to  any  room  at  all,  but  the  advan 
tages  to  be  gained  by  removal  more  than  compensate  for 
the  trouble  of  making  the  change.  After  drawing  his 
new  room,  he  has  only  to  sign  a  blank,  ordering  the 
transfer  of  his  furniture  and  effects  from  the  old  room 
to  the  new,  and  hand  it  in  to  the  proper  authority  before 
his  departure.  The  work  is  done  during  vacation,  un 
der  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  and  the  cost  of  the  same 
charged  upon  the  individual's  term-bill.  If  he  chooses, 
he  himself  can  directly  bargain  for  and  superintend  the 
removal, — at  greater  cost  of  time  and  money.  The  an 
nual  rent  of  a  college  room  varies  from  $12.50  to  $50, 
according  to  location, — a  man  who  occupies  a  room 
alone  of  course  paying  double, — but  as  all  the  furniture 
and  equipment  has  to  be  purchased,  the  actual  disparity 
between  its  cost  and  that  of  a  room  in  town  is  not  so 
great  as  appears.  Still,  everything  taken  into  account, 
college  rooms  are,  on  the  average,  undoubtedly  less 
expensive  than  those  in  town.  Each  individual  consults 
his  own  taste  and  purse  in  the  fitting  up  of  his  apart 
ments,  some  being  very  plainly,  others  luxuriously  fur 
nished.  The  amount  spent  by  a  pair  of  chums  in  this 
way  varies  from  $200  to  four  or,  in  rare  cases,  even  rive 
times  that  amount.  As  alreadv  remarked,  none  but 


292  I'OUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

poor  Freshmen  room  in  college,  and  the  Sophomores 
rarely  lay  out  much  upon  their  college  rooms  ;  so  that 
it  is  only  during  the  last  two  years  that  the  rich  men 
much  affect  the  dormitories  and  exert  themselves  to 
make  them  attractive  and  comfortable.  Much  new  fur 
niture  is.  every  year  brought  into  the  buildings,  but 
much  remains  there,  year  after  year.  A  Senior  seldom 
carries  much  away  with  him,  on  his  departure,  but  sells 
his  goods  to  under-class  men,  or  his  washerwoman  and 
her  "  friends,'"'  or,  as  a  last  resort,  to  the  second-hand 
dealers.  For  the  latter  half  of  the  third  term,  the  trees 
in  the  yard  are  white  with  notices  of  furniture  sales  at 
this  or  that  Senior's  room  ;  in  the  manufacture  of  which 
notices  all  the  artistic,  literary  and  humorous  talent  of 
each  individual  owner  is  made  use  of.  Every  notice 
attempts  in  some  way  to  be  better  than  every  other,  and 
the  result  is  sometimes  quite  amusing.  "  Furniture  for 
sale,"  is  also  the  legend  displayed  from  many  a  Senior's 
window,  and  perhaps  left  dangling  there,  long  after  Pre 
sentation  Day,  when  everything  has  been  "  sold  "  and  the 
owner  has  disappeared  forever. 

As  the  real  expense  of  the  furniture  is  the  difference 
between  the  buying  and  selling  price,  it  may  happen  that 
a  very  well  furnished  room  may  in  the  end  cost  little 
more  than  one  fitted  up  in  much  inferior  style.  Chums 
in  college  almost  always  occupy  separate  beds  and  bed 
rooms  ;  in  town,  they  as  invariably  sleep  together. 
Each  room  is  heated  by  a  separate  stove,  and  coal  is  the 
fuel  employed.  This  is  supplied  by  the  college  authori 
ties  at  cost  prices.  A  student,  whether  rooming  in 
college  or  town,  orders  at  the  treasurer's  office  a  quarter 
or  half  ton  or  more  of  coal,  paying  for  it  at  the  time  of 
ordering,  and  it  is  shortly  afterwards  delivered  at  his 
room.  The  price  varies  somewhat  with  the  number  of 
flights  of  stairs  up  which  it  has  to  be  carried.  No  coal 


/'//A  .97?  'DENT  LIFE.  293 

carts,  save  those  belonging  to  the  college,  are  allowed 
to  enter  the  college  yard ;  and  fuel  purchased  of  the 
dealers  has  to  be  carried  by  hand  from  the  nearest  gate 
way.  There  is  usually  little  reason  for  witholding  pat 
ronage  from  the  college  coal-yard,  but  when  for  any 
cause  an  inhabitant  of  college  chooses  to  buy  his  fuel 
elsewhere,  it  seems  poor  policy  to  hinder  him  by  any 
such  petty  inconvenience.  Open  grates,  though  in  the 
minority,  are  not  uncommon  ;  and  large  Franklin  stoves, 
with  open  wood-fires,  are  sometimes  discovered  in  the 
rooms  of  the  luxurious.  Each  man  must  build  his  own 
fires,  trim  his  own  lamps,  and  draw  his  own  water  at 
the  college  pump,  or  hydrant,  or  cistern,  or  basement 
sink.  A  large,  jug-like  pitcher  of  stone  was  long  used 
for  the  latter  purpose,  though  the  ordinary  tin  water-pail 
is  gradually  superseding  it.  The  are  no  stoves  in  the. 
new  Farnam  College,  which  is  heated  by  steam,  and 
lighted  by  gas,  and  supplied  with  water  sinks  and  faucets 
on  every  floor. 

To  each  college  is  allotted  a  negro  "  sweep,"  who 
must  make  the  beds,  sweep  the  rooms  once  a  week,  and 
keep  them  in  order  generally.  He  of  course  has  a  key 
to  every  room  in  the  college  to  which  he  is  assigned. 
As  too  much  is  expected  of  these  sweeps  their  work  is 
not  very  thoroughly  done,  and  many  are  in  the  habit  of 
presenting  them  with  a  quarter  or  half-dollar  a  week  as 
a  means  of  securing  special  attention  to  themselves. 
This  is  of  course  demoralizing,  and  leads  to  the  special 
neglect  of  those  who  offer  no  fees.  Another  plan  is  the 
employment  of  a  "private  sweep,"  that  is,  a  negro  who, 
besides  making  the  beds  and  doing  the  ordinary  cham 
ber  work,  builds  the  fires,  draws  the  water,  blacks  boots, 
buys  the  oil,  fills  and  trims  the  lamps,  and  runs  on  mis 
cellaneous  errands.  For  these  services  he  receives  a 
salarv  of  something  like  a  dollar  a  week.  Lodgers  in 


294  FOUR    YXAA'S  AT  YALK. 

town,  in  rare  instances,  are  also  able  to  boast  of  employ 
ing  private  sweeps.  Since  '6g's  time,  the  faculty  have 
forbidden  the  occupants  of  college  rooms  either  to  fee 
the  regular  sweeps  or  to  employ  private  ones,  but  of 
course  the  former  prohibition  is  evaded. 

In  a  student's  room,  beside  some  one  of  the  innumer 
able  varieties  of  the  inevitable,  book-case,  lounge,  table, 
and  easy-chair,  will  often  be  found  a  melodeon  or  piano 
forte.  The  walls  are  adorned  with  all  kinds  of  pictures, 
society  posters,  and  knick  knackery  of  every  sort.  Hats 
stolen  from  Freshmen  by  Sophomores,  or  from  Sopho 
mores  by  Freshmen,  in  some  historic  rush  ;  Annual 
caps ;  bangers  and  other  canes ;  oars,  swords  and  box 
ing  gloves  ;  ball  clubs  and  badges  ;  flags  and  streamers  ; 
masks  with  tin  horns,  pipes  or  cigars  in  their  mouths  ; 
policemen's  caps  and  "  billies"  (rare) ;  signs  from  the 
street  lamps  or  from  traders'  windows ;  gilt  eagles,  mor 
tars,  watches,  and  other  mercantile  symbols  ;  figures  cut 
from  theatrical  show-bills  ;  names  of  college,  class,  open 
societies  and  boat  clubs  ;  wooden  spoons,  society  mono 
grams  and  groups  of  society  pins  ;  anything  and  every 
thing  in  the  way  of  a  memento  of  past  experience, 
whether  gained  by  gift,  purchase  or  theft  ;  all  are  dis 
played  here.  Pipes,  tobacco  and  cigars,  playing  cards, 
bottles,  glasses  and  decanters,  lie  in  sight  amid  the 
books  and  papers,  or  readily  at  hand  in  drawer  or 
closet.  And  branded  on  the  inner  side  of  closet  doors 
are  the  names  and  initials  of  former  occupants ;  or  reg 
ular  manuscript  lists  of  them  carefully  compiled  from 
old  catalogues  by  some  antiquarian,  and  running  back 
for  nearly  a  century. 

Many  are  the  uninvited  and  usually  unwelcome  guests 
who  knock  at  the  college  doors.  First,  there  is  "  Candy 
Sam,"  the  blind  negro  who  for  the  past  dozen -years  has 
"  helped  hold  up  the  Athenaeum  tower,"  and  exhorted 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  295 

the  Freshmen  to  patronize  the  only  legitimate  candy 
seller  recognized  by  the  institution.  Each  clay  he  finds 
his  way  to  every  college  room,  with  his  apples  and  con 
fectionery,  and  soon  learns  to  recognize  by  their  voices, 
his  individual  patrons.  The  Freshmen  usually  take  up 
a  collection  for  him  at  Thanksgiving  time,  and  the  other 
classes  "  remember''  him  before  the  opening  of  the  long 
vacation.  He  gets  all  his  clothes  from  college  men,  and 
is  never  tired  of  sounding  the  praises  of  the  good  fel 
lows  in  past  classes  who  liberally  patronized  him. 
u  Sam"  is  good  natured,  garrulous,  and  often  amusing. 
His  true  name,  which  he  rarely  mentions,  is  Theodore 
Ferris.  Aside  from  the  intermittent  "  Trade  Wind," 
whose  energies  are  mostly  confined  to  the  hawking  of 
"  fresh  vanilla  'n'  lemonice,"  "  Sam"  's  chief  rival  is  a 
crafty  black  man  called  "  Hannibal,"  whose  entrance 
into  the  room  is  always  accompanied  by  some  such  form 
ula  as,  "  Not  wishing  to  interrupt  the  gentlemen  in  their 
studies  I  called  to  see  if  either  of  the  gentlemen  would 
like  to  invest  in  purchasing  from  me  a  package  of  my 
nice  superior  old-fashioned  home-made  molasses  candy." 
This  rigmarole,  like  all  the  rest  of  "Hannibal's" 
speeches,  is  delivered  with  the  greatest  appearance  of 
gravity,  and  without  pause  of  any  sort  save  that  supplied 
by  the  peculiar  intonation.  Then  there  is  the  Jew, 
ready  in  all  seasons  and  weathers  with  his  inevitable 
greeting,  •"  Fine  day  !  any  old  clothes  for  me  to-day,  my 
dears?"  There  is  "  Old  Matches,"  the  tireless.  There 
is  "  Ajax,"  and  the  "  Father  of  Ajax."  There  is  Daniel 
Pratt,  Jr.,  impecunious  but  undaunted.  There  are  the 
street  Arabs,  ready  to  "clean  a  spittoon"  or  "  wash  their 
faces  in  the  mud"  for  five  cents  ;  the  little  girls  who 
want  a  penny  wherewith  to  purchase  crackers  for  a  sick 
mother,  or  to  buy  a  new  dress  ;  the  widow  of  large  fam- 
Uy  whose  husband  was  killed  in  the  war  ;  the  beggars  of 


YEARS  AT   YALE. 

all  sorts  and  sizes  ;  the  pedlers  of  subscription  books,  of 
pictures,  of  patent  medicines  and  patent  blacking-boxes 
and  patent  lamp-shades  ;  the  owners  of  every  possible 
device  likely  to  attract  a  student's  money.  All  these 
range  through  the  college  buildings,  without  let  or  hin 
drance,  following  one  another  in  endless  succession,  day 
after  day. 

Of  course  doors  are  often  locked  against  them,  but 
this  is  inconvenient,  and  likely,  besides,  to  keep  out 
more  acceptable  visitors.  The  small  fry  seldom  venture 
above  the  first  floor  of  the  building,  unless  specially 
ordered,  having  a  wholesome  fear  of  the  upstair  rooms, 
induced  by  the  tricks  often  practised  upon  those  of  their 
number  who  have  been  caught  there.  A  wandering 
organ-grinder  or  harpist  is  sometimes  hired,  by  the  men 
who  are  to  recite  there,  to  play  under  the  window  of  a 
recitation  room,  thus  calling  down  upon  himself  the  re 
buke  of  the  tutor,  who  sternly  orders  him  from  the  yard. 
Another  trick  is  for  a  student  to  personate  a  college 
official,  in  warning  away  these  and  similar  stragglers, 
with  many  admonitions  of  mock  solemnity. 

Two  tutors  or  professors  are  allotted  to  each  dor 
mitory,  and  occupy  separate  rooms.  These,  with  a 
single  exception,  are  all  on  the  second  floor  front.  In 
South  and  South  Middle  they  are  the  two  corner  rooms ; 
in  North  Middle  and  North  the  two  middle  rooms.  In 
the  latter  college  the  two  corner  rooms  of  the  second 
floor  front  are  also  occupied  at  certain  hours  of  the  day 
by  professors  who  reside  in  town  ;  and  the  third  floor 
front  corner  room  of  the  south  entry  of  that  college  is 
the  exception  referred  to,  being  occupied  by  a  tutor  or 
professor.  These  resident  officials  never  act  as  spies, 
and  seldom  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  entries,  with  whom,  it  usually  happens,  they  are  not 
personally  acquainted.  If  an  unusual  uproar  and  dis- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  29? 

turbance,  late  at  night,  proceeds  from  a  room  in  a 
tutor's  vicinity,  he  calls  there  and  requests  that  less 
noise  be  made  ;  and  if  the  racket  is  unabated,  perhaps 
after  a  second  warning,  he  reports  the  case  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  faculty.  So,  too,  if  a  party  ofcarousers 
insist  upon  smashing  one  another's  windows,  crockery, 
and  furniture,  or  rolling  dumb-bells  and  coal-scuttles 
down  the  stairs,  or  firing  off  cannon-crackers  in  the 
entries,  the  tutor  is  obliged  to  take  cognizance  thereof, 
and  report  to  his  superiors.  So  long,  however,  as  a  man 
behaves  himself  with  tolerably  decency,  and  doesn't 
greatly  disturb  his  neighbors,  he  is  free/rom  all  inter 
ference,  and  can  do  what  he  likes  in  his  own  room.  It 
is  this  peculiar  independence,  afforded  by  no  other 
mode  of  living,  that  gives  the  life  in  dormitories  its 
greatest  charm.  A  man  dwelling  there  can  come  and 
go  whenever  he  will,  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night, 
and  no  one  need  be  any  the  wiser.  By  himself,  or  with 
a  jolly  company  of  invited  comrades,  he  can  "  sport 
his  oak,"  and  while  away  a  pleasant  evening,  in  for- 
getfulness  of  the  outside  world.  No  irate  landlady  up 
braids  him  for  his  late  hours,  or  his  want  of  neatness, 
or  his  destructive  proclivities.  He  is  his  own  master. 
His  room  is  his  castle.  And  if  he  can't  "  wallop  his 
own  nigger,"  he  can  at  least  swear  at  his  private  sweep. 
The  man  who  fails  to  room  for  at  least  a  single  year  in 
the  dormitories,  loses  one  of  the  most  distinctive  expe 
riences  of  college  life.  So  well  is  this  truth  recognized, 
that,  spite  of  all  the  inconveniences  of  the  present 
"shells,"  "brick  barracks,"  "factories," — as,  with  too 
good  reason,,  the  old  colleges  are  often  called, — they 
are  always  crowded,  and  are  then  unable  to  accommodate 
a  large  portion  of  the  applicants.  It  is,  therefore,  likely, 
that  in  the  good  time  which  all  Yale  men  hope  is 
coming,  when  the  college  yard  shall  be  surrounded  by 

14* 


29^  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

commodious  and  elegant  edifices  like  the  new  stone 
dormitory,  that  all  the  undergraduates  will  be  only  too 
happy  to  improve  the  opportunity  of  living  together 
within  the  walls.  Many  items  in  the  foregoing  descrip 
tion  will  of  course  have  no  application  to  the  denizens 
of  the  new  Farnam  College,  who  are  obliged  to  conduct 
themselves  more  discreetly,  in  return  for  receiving  its 
luxuries,  and  who  are  chaffed  at  as  "aristocrats,"  "na 
bobs,"  and  so  on,  by  those  who  prefer  to  put  up  with  the 
inconveniences  of  the  old  buildings,  rather  than  submit 
to  the  prim  regulations  of  the  new. 

"  Sitting  on  the  fence  "  is  a  privilege  that  no  Fresh 
man  may  enjoy ;  at  least  until  Presentation  Day,  when 
by  courtesy  he  becomes  a   Sophomore.     Each   of  the 
three  upper  classes  lays  claim  to  a  particular  portion  of 
the  fence  as  a  roosting  place.     The  Seniors  affect  the 
neighborhood  of  the  South  College  gateways,  occupying 
the  space  between  and  a  length  or  two  each  side  of  the 
same.     The   Juniors    take  up  the  rest  of  the   Chapel 
street  front,  toward  the  east ;  and  the  Sophomores  ex 
tend  on  College  street,  from  the  corner  of  Chapel  to  the 
Athenaeum  gateway.     Here,  on  pleasant  days,  for  an 
hour  or  two  after  dinner  and  supper,  crowds  of  under 
graduates  perch  themselves,  and  smoke,  chat,  laugh  and 
sing  together.     The  Sophomores  naturally  improve  the 
opportunity   thus  afforded    to   howl   and  shriek  at  the 
Freshmen    who    may   be   obliged    to  pass    near    them, 
under  pretext  of  doing  away  with  this,  and   silencing 
the  complaints  of  the  townspeople  against  the  blocking 
up  of  the  sidewalks,  the  faculty  decreed,  in  the  autumn 
of  '66,  when  the  class  of  '69  were    Sophomores,  that 
there    should  be  no  more    sitting   upon  the    fence,    or 
gathering  of  groups  in  its  vicinity,  under  penalty  of  five 
marks  for  each   offender.      The  rule  was    exceedingly 
unpopular  ;    and    it   could    not    be  enforced.      Crowds 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  299 

perched  upon  the  fence  as  usual,  scattered  on  the  ap 
proach  of  an  official,  and  then  came  back  to  their  roost 
again.  The  fence  was  repeatedly  torn  up,  hacked  to 
pieces,  and  set  on  fire,  and  the  college  carpenter's 
repairs  of  the  day  were  destroyed  on  the  approach  of 
night,  until  watchmen  had  to  be  employed  to  protect 
the  fence  from  its  relentless  foes.  Next  spring,  plank 
benches  were  set  up  under  the  trees,  in  various  parts  of 
the  yard,  and  use  was  made  of  them  by  the  students  ; 
but  they  were  no 'substitute  for  the  fence,  which  was  as 
attractive  as  ever,  and  as  ever  the  most  popular  ren 
dezvous.  Little  by  little,  the  faculty  left  off  marking, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  year  they  abandoned  definitely  the 
attempt  to  enforce  the  obnoxious  rule, — not  however 
thinking  it  necessary  to  make  any  public  announcement 
of  their  defeat.  The  benches  were  removed,  a  year  and 
a  half  after  their  erection. 

The  result  of  the  conflict  showed  the  inability  of  the 
faculty  to  enforce  an  unfair  rule  which  the  common 
sense  of  college  unanimously  condemned.  Without 
question,  it  is  somewhat  unpleasant  for  travelers  afoot 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  hundreds  of  students'  eyes,  and 
they  may  at  times  suffer  other  annoyance  because  of  the 
assembled  crowd ;  but,  after  all,  their  inconvenience  is 
but  trifling  when  compared  with  the  solid,  substantial 
comfort  which  undergraduates  take  in  sitting  on  the 
fence.  There  is  nothing  wicked  or  disreputable  about 
the  practice,  and  as  it  is  one  of  the  most  cherished  re 
laxations  of  every  college  man,  its  attempted  abolish 
ment  was  impolitic  and  foolish.  Each  victim  of  the 
decree  felt  this  prohibition  of  an  innocent  amusement 
to  be  an  unreasonable  infringement  of  his  personal 
liberty,  and  spite  of  marks,  warnings,  and  suspensions, 
all  joined  in  asserting  their  rights  and  forcing  the  faculty 
from  an  untenable  position.  It  may  be  doubted  if  any 


300  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

large  number  of  townspeople  seriously  object  to  the 
practice,  for  it  is  not  difficult  for  the  timid  to  walk  upon 
the  further  side  of  the  street  when  passing  the  colleges  ; 
and,  for  a  good  natured  man,  the  sight  of  a  fence  full 
of  merry  faces  must  be  a  pleasant  one.  To  sit  there  of 
a  pleasant  afternoon,  watching  the  passing  pedestrians  ; 
listening  to  the  tirades  of  the  "  great  American  traveler," 
or  the  music  of  an  itinerant  harpist,  or  banjo-player,  or 
organ-grinder ;  applauding  the  songs  and  stories  of 
"  Crazy  Charley,"  or  some  other  strolling  vagabond  ; 
pitching  pennies  into  the  mud,  for  the  encouragement 
of  impromptu  prize-fights  among  the  street  ragamuffins  ; 
chaffing  with  Candy  Sam  or  Hannibal ;  "  listlessly 
loafing  the  hours  away  ;"  seems,  to  many  a  one,  happi 
ness  supreme. 

Singing,  too,  is  never  entered  into  or  enjoyed  so 
heartily  as  when  sitting  on  the  fence  ;  the  subtle  fascina 
tion  of  that  locality — seeming  to  accord  well  with  the 
spirit  of  melody.  One  of  the  pleasantest  recollections 
of  a  graduate  is  the  memory  of  moonlight  evenings 
under  the  elms,  enlivened  by  the  inspiring  sounds  of 
grand  old  college  tunes.  While  "  on  the  fence,"  each 
class  sings  by  itself,  though  two  crowds  sometimes 
alternate  with  each  other.  The  musical  talent  varies  in 
different  classes,  but  usually  the  Seniors  do  the  most 
outdoor  singing,  the  Juniors  a  little  less,  and  the  Soph 
omores  least ;  while  the  Freshmen,  having  no  place  on 
the  fence,  cannot  be  said  to  sing  at  all.  Often  a 
party  will  sing  for  an  hour  or  more,  —  changing 
from  grave  to  gay,  from  lively  to  severe — while  the  win 
dows  and  balconies  of  the  New  Haven  Hotel  testify 
their  appreciation  of  the  music.  The  collection  of  Yale 
songs  published  in  1867  numbered  about  100,  assigned 
to  half  that  number  of  distinct  airs.  Many  of  them  of 
course  are  in  vogue  elsewhere,  but  a  great  majority 


THE  STUDENT  L IFE.  3  o  I 

undoubtedly  originated  at  the  institution  or  were  first 
adopted  by  it  as  distinctively  college  songs.  In  the  col 
lection  of  American  college  songs,  published  a  year  later 
by  a  member  of  Hamilton  College,  Yale  is  assigned  38 
pages  out  of  the  245,  or  14  more  than  Harvard,  which 
has  the  next  largest  number,  and  about  four  times  as 
many  as  the  average  of  the  2 1  colleges  represented. 
Certain  it  is  that  at  no  other  institution  is  this  sort  of 
music  so  extensively  indulged  in.  Of  late  years,  with 
the  dying  out  of  certain  old  customs  whose  celebration 
demanded  original  songs,  fewer  such  melodies  have 
been  produced  than  formerly,  yet  about  every  class 
leaves  behind  it  two  or  three  new  ones — in  possession 
of  a  society  or  the  general  college  public — with  vitality 
enough  to  keep  them  for  a  long  time  afloat.  What  the 
popularity  of  a  college  song  depends  upon  it  would  be 
hard  to  say.  The  operatic  choruses  and — the  negro 
minstrels  supply  many  new  ones,  which  are  held  in  high 
favor  for  a  short  time  and  then  for  the  most  part  are 
forgotten.  A  few,  however,  manage  to  outlive  the 
ephemeral  popularity  of  the  others,  and  finally  become 
incorporated  with  the  regular  songs  of  the  college. 
Next  to  a  really  meritorious  piece,  one  which  is  out 
rageously  absurd  seems  to  stand  the  best  chance  of 
adoption  ;  and  it  is  very  desirable,  if  not  indispensable, 
for  a  tune  that  would  find  favor  in  college,  that  it  should 
not  be  often  heard  outside  it,  especially  upon  the  street. 
Yale  men,  except  professional  singers,  rarely  know  more 
than  the  first  verse  or  two  of  any  one  song,  so  that,  if 
given  to  the  end,  all  but  the  chorus  becomes  a  solo. 
Usually,  instead  of  this,  the  tune  is  changed  and  a  new 
song  started,  and  so  on  till  the  crowd's  collection  of 
"  first  verses "  has  been  exhausted.  Even  so  old  a 
melody  as  "  Lauriger  "  is  seldom  rendered  entire,  and 
probably  not  one  man  in  a  dozen  could  give  the  last 
verse  correctly  without  previous  cramming. 


302  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

This  custom  of  singing  is  a  comparatively  modern 
one,  and  the  secret  societies  have  the  credit  of  intro 
ducing  it, — several  of  the  college  melodies  having  been 
originally  their  own  private  property.  The  first  collec 
tion  of  Yale  songs  was  issued  in  1853, — N.  W.  T.  Root 
of  '52  and  J.  K.  Lombard  of  '54  being  the  editors, — 
and  comprised  an  octavo  pamphlet  of  56  pages.  A  sec 
ond  edition,  of  the  same  number  of  pages,  was  put  fortli 
by  the  same  editors  in  1855.  Three  years  later,  Edward 
C.  Porter  of  '58  edited  the  third  edition,  enlarged  to  72 
pages,  and  again  in  1860  the  fourth,  of  88  pages.  The 
first  edition  was  printed  by  L.  M.  Guernsey  of  Spring 
field,  and  published  by  E.  Richardson  :  of  the  others, 
J.  H.  Benham  was  the  printer  and  T.  H.  Pease  the  pub 
lisher.  The  next  collection  of  Yale  songs  was  "  Car- 
mina  Yalensia," — large  8vo,  muslin  cover,  88  pages, — 
issued  in  1867  by  Taintor  Brothers  of  New  York,  F.  V. 
Garretson  of  '66  being  the  compiler.  The  collection 
now  current  is  "Songs  of  Yale,"  i2ino,  126  pages, 
compiled  by  C.  S.  P^lliot  of  '67,  and  published  by  C.  C. 
Chatfield  &  Co.  in  1870.  Few  of  the  songs  now  sung, 
and  few  indeed  of  those  in  the  earliest  collection  were 
written  much  before  1850.  "  Gaudcamus  "  and  "  Inte 
ger  Vitae  "  were  introduced  in  1848,  by  Richard  S.  Wil 
lis  of  '41,  who  brought  them  from  the  German  universi 
ties.  "  Lauriger  "  was  similarly  derived,  and  more 
recently  "Abschied,"  "Edite"  and  "Lathery."  "Ben 
ny  Havens  "  was  first  brought  from  West  Point  by  the 
Cochleaureati  of  '54.  "  It's  a  way  we  have  at  Old  Yale, 
Sir,"  is  an  original  Yale  song  which  has  been  adapted  to 
almost  every  college  in  the  country.  The  air — "  We 
won't  go  home  till  morning  " — to  which  it  is  sung  is  an 
old  one,  which,  like  many  others  once  popular  with  the 
general  public,  is  now  rarely  heard  outside  of  college 
walls.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  manv  of  those  now 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3°3 

recognized  as  distinctively  college  tunes,  were  formerly 
public  property,  which,  after  enjoying  for  a  brief  season, 
the  outside  world  abandoned  and  forgot. 

"  Glee  clubs  "  are  often  organized,  sometimes  as  class, 
sometimes  as  college  affairs.  A  club  of  the  latter  sort 
is  quite  certain  to  give  public  exhibitions,  "  for  the  en 
tertainment  of  the  audience  and  the  emolument  of  the 
members ; "  and  a  class  club  may  do  the  same,  or  it 
may  practise  for  its  own  amusement  simply.  The  two 
may  exist  at  the  same  time  and  be  in  part  made  up  of 
the  same  individuals.  A  class  glee-club  is  never  organ 
ized  before  sophomore  year  ;  neither  is  a  Freshman,  un 
less  a  remarkably  good  singer,  admitted  to  one  of  the 
other  sort.  The  most  famous  of  strictly  class  glee- 
clubs  was  that  of  '63  ;  but  the  present  club,  which  is 
mostly  made  up  of  '71  men,  is  said  to  be  the  best  ever 
organized,  has  given  several  very  successful  concerts, 
and  proposes  to  devote  a  month  of  the  next  vacation  to 
an  extended  tour  on  land  aud  water, — singing  in  public 
often  enough  to  pay  for  the  expenses  of  the  trip.  Like 
most  clubs  of  the  sort,  it  comprises  about  a  dozen 
members.  Of  more  formal  character  is  the  aged  in 
stitution  known  as  the  "Beethoven  Society,"  which  was 
originated  in  1812,  by  some  members  of  the  class  which 
graduated  the  following  year,  among  whom  was  Profes 
sor  Olmsted,  the  second  president  of  the  society.  It 
always  formed  the  college  choir  until  1855,  when,  on 
account  of  some  difference  with  the  faculty,  it  ceased  to 
perform  that  office,  and  its  place  was  supplied  by  a 
rival  organization  of  still  greater  antiquity  called 
"  Cecilia."  At  the  end  of  two  years  this  society  became 
absorbed  in  Beethoven,  and  the  latter  again  controlled 
the  choir  until  about  1860,  when  the  present  arrange 
ment,  elsewhere  described,  was  effected.  It  naturally 
happens,  however,  that  nearly  all  the  members  of  the 


3°4  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

choir  are  still  claimed  by  the  society.  When  the  name 
"  Beethoven  "  came  to  be  applied  to  what  was  at  first 
known  only  as  "  the  singing  club  "  is  uncertain,  but  by 
the  time  it  was  25  years  old,  its  ordinary  number  of 
members  was  about  30, — two  thirds  of  whom  were  sing 
ers,  and  the  rest  composed  the  "  grand  orchestra." 

"We  had  every  unique  instrument  from  the  piccolo 
fife  to  the  big  drum.  Of  course  our  music  in  its  grand 
ensemble  of  voices  and  instruments  was  often  what  might 
be  termed  rousing: — and  whenever  we  put  forth  our 
musical  energies  we  kept  the  attention  of  our  auditors 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  The  instrument  greatly 
predominating  in  our  orchestra  was  the  flute.  '  The 
inevitable  flute '  had,  indeed,  ever  to  be  repressed  and 
discouraged.  Every  second  fellow  who  wanted  to  join 
the  choir  played  a  flute.  We  grew,  indeed,  to  be  relent 
less  on  the  flute  question.  Having  secured  several  of 
the  most  accomplished  upon  that  pastoral  instrument, 
we  turned  our  backs  resolytely  upon  all  other  piping 
shepherds.  Strange  to  say,  however,  the  instrument 
best  played  of  all  was  the  violin.  We  actually  had 
violin  playing  rather  than  that  fiddling  naturally  (of  stu 
dents)  to  be  expected.  We  were  also  supplied  with  the 
viola,  'cello  and  double-bass,  so  that  the  quartette  of 
the  '  strings  '  was  complete.  Of  the  '  brasses  '  we 
had  but  a  single  representative, — a  big  ophicleide.  It 
was  our  great  gun,  that  ophicleide.  We  based  a  good 
deal  of  our  musical  reputation  upon  the  fundamental 
notes  of  that  deep-mouthed  orator.  We  had  now  and 
then  a  guitar,  a  triangle,  a  piccolo  flute,  etc.  Such  in 
struments  as  were  not  heard,  by  reason  of  the  general 
din — like  the  tinkling  guitar — were  supposed  to  be 
heard.  They  looked  pretty  when  the  fellows  played 
them — and  a  great  many  serenaded  misses  in  town 
could  testify  that  (when  heard  at  all)  they  also  sounded 
pretty. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3°5 

"  Up  to  1841,  each  graduating  class  had  gone  to  the 
no  inconsiderable  expense  of  hiring  a  New  York  orches 
tra  to  play  at  Center  Church  during  the  Commencement 
exercises,  as  is  still  the  practice.  But  that  year  we  de 
termined  to  save  all  expense  and  do  the  melodious 
thing  ourselves.  Nor  this  alone.  We  resolved  to  at 
tempt  the  as  yet  unheard-of  enterprise,  and  give  a  con 
cert  on  the  evening  preceding  Commencement.  It  was 
held  in  a  church  on  Church  street,  the  pulpit  being 
removed  for  the  occasion  and  a  staging  constructed. 
The  number  of  tickets  issued  was  unlimited,  and — un 
fortunately  for  the  accommodations  of  the  church — the 
sale  was  unlimited  :  so  that  when  the  evening  of  per 
formance  arrived,  one-third  of  the  audience  had  to  listen 
from  the  street,  we  putting  up  the  windows,  and  the 
audience  complacently  submitting  to  such  unprece 
dented  concert-arrangements.  Between  the  parts  of  the 
programme  an  address  on  Music  was  delivered  by  the 
president  [R.  S.  Willis,  whose  words  are  being  quoted], 
he  feeling  safe  from  any  expressions  of  disapproval, 
from  the  fact  that  precautions  had  wisely  been  taken, 
early  in  the  evening,  to  request  the  audience  to  refrain 
from  any  tokens  of  satisfaction  or  dissatisfaction — if  for 
no  other  reason,  out  of  regard  for  the  character  of  the 
place." 

Since  then,  the  character  of  Beethoven  has  materially 
changed.  The  orchestra  was  long  ago  abandoned,  and 
the  "  big  ophicleide"  and  other  instruments  are  things  of 
memory  only,  though  perhaps  instrumental  clubs  like 
"Tyrolea,"  and  the  "Yale  String  Band/' and  "Yale 
Tooters,"  in  turn  inherited  them.  There  was  also  a 
"  Musical  Band''  organized  as  early  as  1827,  which 
raised  money  enough  to  make  extensive  purchases,  but 
which  came  to  an  early  end.  Its  instruments  were  be 
queathed  to  the  president  of  the  college,  who  afterwards 


3°6  FOUR    YKAKS  AT  YALE. 

on  special  occasions  used   to  loan   the   band's  big  bass 
drum  to  the  students.     There  are  periods  of  suspended 
animation  in  the  Beethoven  society's  existence,  followed 
by  vigorous  revivals  and  displays  of  unwonted  vitality. 
When  in  good  working  trim,  it  aims  to  give  two  or  three 
concerts   a  year  in  New  Haven,  and,  with  the  faculty's 
permission,  as  many  more  at  such  places  as  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Jersey  City,  Hartford,  Providence,  and  even 
Boston.     On  these  occasions  the  best  singers  among  the 
late  graduates,   who   are  members   of  the  professional 
schools  or  otherwise  residents,  usually  lend  their  assist 
ance.     One  of  them  is  sometimes  chosen  leader  of  the 
society,  and  employed  on   a  salary  as  a  director  of  the 
rehearsals.       Otherwise,  if  necessary,  a  professional  is 
elected  to  the  position.      Regular  weekly  rehearsals  are 
held  on  Wednesday  evenings  and  are  an  hour  in  length  ; 
while  in  preparation  for  a  concert  the  practice  meetings 
are  of  course  more  frequent  and  prolonged.     Posters  on 
the  trees  request  the  attendance  of  members.     Calliope 
hall  is  sometimes  used   as  a  place   of  meeting  ;  or  an 
apartment  in  town  is  rented  for  the  purpose.     While  '69 
was  in  college,  the  membership  varied  from  40  to  70,— 
50  being  the  average.     The  Seniors  usually  outnumber 
the  others,  though  the  last  published  list  exhibits  :    Sen 
iors  20,  Juniors  20,  Sophomores  9  and  Scientifics  8.     In 
the  old  times,  there  doubtless  was  fierce  rivalry  between 
Cecilia  and  Beethoven  in  electioneering  for  new  mem 
bers,  and  "  likely"  Freshmen  were  called  upon  and  made 
to  display  their  vocal  abilities,  by  partisans  of  the  two 
clubs  on  the  look-out  for  the  best  singers  among  the  new 
comers.     Now-a-days,  an  under-class  man  is  elected  on 
the  recommendation  of   those  who  know  him  to  be  a 
"  good  singer,"  and  any  Senior,  possessed  of  sufficient 
musical  sense  to  keep  time  to  an  ordinary  chorus,  finds 
no  difficulty  in  becoming   a  "  Beethovenite."     There  is 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3°7 

therefore  no  particular  "  honor"  about  an  election  to,  or 
an  "  office"  in,  the  society,  and  consequently  there  is 
little  wrangling  on  those  points.  The  "  constitution," 
"archives,"  and  "  properties,"  are  not  very  extensive  or 
valuable. 

Students  are  dragged  to  Beethoven  rehearsals,  as  to 
all  others,  with  great  difficulty.  Even  with  a  concert  in 
preparation,  attendance  is  by  no  means  general.  Only 
a  small  portion  of  the  members  take  the  prominent 
parts  in  the  concerts, — the  remaining  voices  being  used 
to  help  on  the  choruses, — and  the  complaints  of  partial 
ity  and  injustice,  so  common  among  musical  people  else 
where,  are  not  always  wanting.  As  every  member  of  a 
class  or  college  glee  club  is  almost  certain  to  belong  to 
the  society  also,  a  "grand  concert"  is  usually  advertised 
in  the  name  of  the  "  Beethoven  Society  and  Yale  Glee 
Club."  In  such  cases  "  the  society"  gets  the  credit  for 
the  elaborate,  "  scientific"  pieces,  and  "  the  club"  for  the 
hearty  college  songs,  which  the  audience  most  expect 
and  relish.  The  profits  of  the  concerts  are  not  usually 
large,  for  the  cost  of  transporting  so  large  a  company  is 
considerable,  and  the  money  made  by  a  successful  show 
may  be  offset  by  that  lost  in  an  unlucky  one.  Students 
are  not  distinguished  as  shrewd  business  managers. 
Still,  enough  is  usually  made  to  pay  the  running  ex 
penses  of  the  society  without  a  resort  to  taxation ;  and 
a  respectable  surplus  is  often  left  to  present  to  the  Yale 
Navy,  or  some  similar  needy  " institution." 

The  number  of  Sophomores  in  any  class  who  amuse 
themselves  by  abusing  the  Freshmen,  in  the  ways  de 
scribed  in  the  last  chapter,  is  not  very  large.  A  dozen 
ringleaders,  and  as  many  more  who  occasionally  lend 
their  presence  to  such  proceedings  would  probable  in 
clude  them  all.  The  rest  of  the  class,  with  self-respect 
enough  not  to  favor  such  things  themselves,  are  yet  indif- 


3°8  FOUR  .  YEARS  A  T  YALE. 

ferent  as  regards  the  others,  or  at  best  but  passively  hos 
tile  to  them.  It  is  a  rare  thing  for  a  Sophomore  of 
influence  to  utter  a  bold  protest  against  the  excesses  of 
his  classmates.  The  common  remark  that "  a  few  bullies 
and  cowards  in  every  sophomore  class  are  able  to  dis 
grace  it  and  the  college,  in  spite  of  an  all  but  unanimous 
sentiment  again t  them,"  is  not  true,  as  a  matter  of  fact. 
The  number  of  evil  doers,  as  stated  at  the  opening  of 
the  paragraph,  is  certainly  few,  but  there  is  no  strong 
public  sentiment  against  them.  They  do  not  lose  their 
social  standing  and  importance.  They  are  still  accounted 
good  fellows.  They  are  chosen  to  the  highest  offices 
and  receive  elections  to  the  best  societies.  Class  and 
college  look  upon  their  sins  as  venial  ones,  and,  while 
disapproving  of  the  same,  do  not  inflict  any  sort  of  pun 
ishment  on  account  thereof. 

In  the  classes  of  '66  and  '67  the  Sophomores  who 
specially  engaged  in  the  duty  of  "disciplining"  the 
Freshmen  called  themselves  the  "  Court  of  Areopagus," 
and  published  under  that  title  in  the  Banner  the  names 
of  two  "  judices,"  three  "  accusatores,"  four  "  lictors"and 
four  "carnifices."  Each  name  was  formed  by  an  odd- 
looking  combination  of  letters,  like  "  Nchokotsa," 
"  Mochoasele,"  "  Kantankruss,"  or  "  Phreshietaugh,"  fol 
lowed  by  the  small  Greek  letters  corresponding  to  the 
initials  of  each  man's  real  name.  The  whole  was  printed 
in  heavy  black  type  and  surmounted  by  mourning  rules, 
to  make  more  plausible  the  included  motto,  "  Nos  time- 
unt  Freshmanes."  In  the  "  Bingo"  song,  then  as  now 
shouted  at  the  Fresh,  "  A-re-op-a-gus  !  Freshmen  stand 
in  fear  of  us,"  supplied  the  place  of  "  Here's  to  good  old 
Yale,  She's  so  hearty  and  so  hale."  The  two  classes 
who  successively  supported  the  "  court"  also  published 
"  personal"  lists  in  regard  to  the  peculiarities  of  their 
own  "  fellows."  The  long,  short,  fat,  thin,  big,  little, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3°9 

hard,  soft,  odd,  good,  gay,  and  strong,  "  fellows"  of  the 
Sophomores,  each  had  their  initials  indicated  by  the 
small  Greek  letters.  This  is  mentioned  because  of  its 
exceptional  character,  for  the  practice,  though  common 
at  other  colleges,  is  rarely  indulged  in  at  Yale.  It 
should  not  be  inferred  that  "  Areopagus"  was  peculiar 
to  the  classes  mentioned.  It  had  existed  for  ten  or  a 
dozen  years  before  their  time,  as  a  sort  of  freshman  bug 
bear,  but  it  had  not  previously  published  the  fact  of  its 
existence  so  boldly.  The  Easthampton  boys  are  said  to 
have  introduced  it.  as  an  institution  of  similar  name 
and  object  had  long  been  kept  up  at  their  academy. 
Everything  about  it  was  shrouded  in  mystery,  and  its 
very  indefmiteness  added  terror  to  its  name  among  the 
Freshmen.  When  one  of  them  was  hazed,  "  the  Areo 
pagus"  was  believed  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  it,  even 
though  the  victim  was  punished  without  a  formal  trial 
and  sentence  under  the  peculiar  and  awe-inspiring  forms 
belonging  to  that  august  tribunal.  Since  its  disappear 
ance  from  the  Banner  the  name  has  become  obsolete. 
"Turdetani"  was  the  title  of  a  somewhat  similar  affair 
devised  by  the  Sophs  of  '63. 

Sophomores  and  also  Juniors  occasionally  form  make- 
believe  "  societies "  among  themselves,  possessed  of 
certain  letters  or  symbols,  whose  signification  is  usually 
a  joke  or  "  sell "  of  some  kind.  A  thing  of  the  sort  in 
'68  became  well  known  on  account  of  the  popularity  of 
a  jingling  chorus,  originated  by  it,  which  was  mostly 
made  up  of  a  repetition  of  the  name,  "  Nu  Tau  Phi." 
When  the  '68  men  came  to  be  Juniors,  they  thought  a 
transfer  of  the  joke  to  a  half-dozen  Sophomores  might 
be  productive  of  cigars  and  potables,  and  accordingly 
announced  that  those  expecting  elections  to  the  "society" 
should  be  in  their  rooms  on  a  certain  night.  At  the 
appointed  time,  several  roguish  Sophs  thought  fit  to 


3*0  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

impose  on  their  classmates  who  had  made  any  prepara 
tions  for  "election,"  by  pretending  to  be  Juniors,  offer 
ing  the  elections  to  "Nu  Tau  Phi,"  and  helping  them 
selves  to  their  wine  and  cigars.     The  fraud  was  carried 
out  successfully  in  two  or  three  cases.     In  others,  the 
chief  actors  of  the  joke  were  discovered  in  the  midst  of 
it.     When  the  real  Juniors  finally  appeared,  they  brought, 
as  "  election  cards,"  large  pasteboards  on  which  were 
scrawled  the   names   of  the   "elected."     That  was  the 
end  of  "  Nu  Tau  Phi,"  but  the  success  of  these  spurious 
elections    to    this   mock    "society,"    suggested    to    the 
Sophomores  the  idea  of  playing  a  similar  game  upon 
ambitious  Freshmen.     Accordingly  a  number  of  them 
devised  the  "  Omega  Lambda  Chi,"— adapting  the  latter 
part  of  the   title  to  the   "nu-tau-phi  chorus."     On  an 
appointed  evening  Freshmen  were  visited  by  individual 
Sophomores,  pledged  to  secrecy,  and  then  electioneered 
for  a  mysterious  society  whose  name  was  not  divulged. 
If  they  consented  to  join  it,  they  were  to  be  prepared  to 
receive  their  elections  at  midnight.     As  many  of  these 
visitors  belonged   to   the   regular  sophomore  societies, 
which  at  that  time  had  agreed  to  give  no  pledges,  the 
Freshmen  connected  the  offer  with  a  secret  attempt  to 
get  around  this  agreement,  and  readily  swallowed  the  bait. 
So  "Lambda  Chi"  gave  out  its  elections,  and  was  well 
"  treated  "  by  the  humbugged  Freshmen  who  "  accepted 
the  honor."     They  in  turn  were  thus  inspired  to  practice 
a  somewhat  similar  trick  upon   one  of  their  own  num 
ber,  who,  having  entered  the  class  late  in  the  year,  had 
by  foolish  actions  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  them. 
As  the  time  for  giving  out  the  regular  sophomore  society 
elections  approached,  he  was  accordingly  waited  upon 
by  some  Classmates,  who  played  the  part  of  Sophomores, 
and  offered  him  an  election  to  "  Phi  Keta  Chi,"  or  some 
similar  variation    of  the    real    name    of  a    sophomore 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3 1 1 

society.  Accepting  this  "with  pleasure,"  he  was  blind 
folded,  taken  to  a  hall  in  Wwn  and  tossed  in  a  blanket, 
make  to  speak  a  piece,  answer  a  series  of  nonsensical 
questions,  and  so  on,  and  finally  given  the  "grip"  in 
vented  for  the  occasion,  and  left  standing  in  the  street 
near  his  lodging-house,  under  a  pledge  not  to  open  his 
eyes  until  his  attendants  had  made  good  their  escape. 
So  pleased  with  his  "election"  was  the  victim  of  this 
transparent  humbug,  that  he  firmly  believed  in  the  fraud 
up  to  the  night  when  the  real  elections  were  actually 
conferred  upon  his  classmates.  The  Freshmen,  too, 
kept  their  secret  well,  and  the  trick  was  known  to  but 
few  save  the  participants.  Their  dupe  shortly  afterwards 
bade  adieu  to  the  class  and  college.  As  for  "  Lambda 
Chi,"  the  name  at  least  is  still  current  in  college,  and 
perhaps  the  sell  connected  with  it  has  become  tra 
ditional. 

The  faculty  of  course  attempt  to  shield  the  Freshmen 
from  abuse  and  imposition  at  the  hands  of  the  Sopho 
mores,  but  in  the  nature  of  things  their  control  over 
such  matters  is  small.  Their  most  effective  means  of 
action  is  in  the  nature  of  a  bargain  or  compromise. 
Suppose  that  several  Freshmen  are  caught  in  a  rush 
and  suspended  indefinitely,  or  even  dropped  from  the 
class  altogether.  Their  classmates  sign  a  petition  to  the 
authorities,  praying  that  the  verdict  be  reversed,  and 
promising,  if  their  classmates  be  restored,  to  take  part 
in  no  more  rushes,  and  in  sophomore  year  to  refrain 
from  all  interference  with  their  inferiors.  The  Fresh 
men  of  '68  took  a  pledge  of  this  sort,  in  behalf  of  some 
Sophomores  who  had  hazed  one  of  their  number,  but 
afterwards  broke  it;  and  there  are  doubtless  similar 
cases  of  bad  faith  on  record.  The  Sophomores  of '72, 
however,  preserved  in  all  its  strictness  a  pledge  of  non 
interference,  and  scrupulously  refrained  from  the  least 


312  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

abuse  of  the  Freshmen,  who,  in  turn,  though  bound  by 
no  pledge,  gave  but  little  trouble  to  their  successors; 
and  perhaps  it  is  possible  that  a  better  state  of  things 
is  henceforth  to  prevail.  It  was  suggestive  to  notice, 
during  the  period  of  unexampled  harmony  between  '72 
and  '73,  the  frequency  of  the  newspaper  item,  "  Hazing 
has  been  revived  at  Yale  College." 

The  Sophs  of  '69  have  the  discredit  of  introducing  the 
practice  of  burning  the  college  "  coal-yard  " ;  or  at  all 
events  the  trick,  which  seems  to  be  almost  becoming  a 
"  custom,"  had  not  been  known  of  for  several  years 
before  their  time,  if  ever.  It  was  on  the  night  of  No 
vember  13-14,  1866,  that  the  first  conflagration 
happened.  At  that  time,  an  extraordinary  meteoric 
display  was  looked  for  by  the  scientific  men  of  the. 
country,  and  the  college  professors  specially  interested 
in  the  matter  made  considerable  preparations  for  taking 
accurate  observations  of  the  expected  shower,  from  the 
top  of  the  south  tower  of  Alumni  Hall.  It  was  arranged 
to  have  several  relays  of  Sophomores  and  Juniors  join 
them  there  in  watching  out  the  night  and  counting  the 
meteors  as  they  fell.  All  college  was  excited  upon  the 
subject  of  the  heavenly  pyrotechnics,  and  kept  wide 
awake  till  midnight,  awaiting  them:  then  in  disgust 
went  to  bed,  content  to  rely  upon  the  fire  alarm  which 
was  to  arouse  all  the  city  in  case  the  expected  display 
really  appeared.  At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  alarm  did  ring,  rousing  out  the  citizens  to  behold — 
not  a  meteoric  shower,  but  a  conflagration  in  the  college 
yard,  whereof  the  north  coal-yard  furnished  the  material, 
sending  forth  a  sheet  of  flame  which  brought  into  bold 
relief  the  figures  of  the  star  gazers  perched  upon  the 
top  of  the  tower.  This  was  a  practical  joke  which, 
though  exasperating  to  many,  yet  from  the  peculiar  cir 
cumstances  of  the  case,  had  some  reason  for  being ;  but 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3 x  3 

the  later  attempts  of  the  same  sort  have  been  without 
anything  to  recommend  them.  The  south  yard  was 
made  a  bonfire  of  in  celebration  of  Grant's  election  to 
the  presidency,  and  was  then  rebuilt  of  brick.  A  year 
later  the  north  was  again  fired,  and  it  was  burnt  for  the 
third  time  at  the  opening  of  the  summer  term  of  1870, 
on  which  occasion  tutors'  windows  were  smashed,  the 
Bible  was  removed  from  the  chapel,  the  handle  was 
broken  from  the  college  organ,  and  the  chapel  cushions 
of  the  college  officers  were  thrown  into  the  fire.  The 
outrage  thoroughly  exasperated  all  college,  and  when  a 
few  clays  later  the  faculty  detected  the  three  drunken 
Sophomores  who  were  guilty  of  perpetrating  it,  and 
promptly  expelled  them,  every  one  joined  in  approving 
the  verdict.  The  yard  was  fired  for  the  fourth  time,  in 
the  midst  of  a  driving  rain  storm,  on  the  night  before  last 
Thanksgiving  day,  supposably  to  signify  dissatisfaction 
at  the  omission  of  the  Jubilee.  As  the  coal-yard  proper 
is  quite  a  large  structure,  the  exertions  of  the  fire  de 
partment  have  thus  far  prevented  the  destruction  of 
more  than  one  side  or  corner  of  it,  though  their  engine 
hose  has  sometimes  been  cut  and  disabled  by  the  incen 
diaries  or  their  abettors,  by  whom  also  the  peelers  have 
been  yelled  at  and  insulted.  The  cost  of  rebuilding  is 
assessed  in  the  shape  of  "  extra  damages "  upon  the 
students'  term  bills ;  and  so,  in  money  as  well  as  repu 
tation,  all  college  suffers  from  the  vandalism  of  a  few 
cowardly  sneaks. 

Though  the  organization  of  a  base-ball  club  is  one  of 
the  first  things  accomplished  by  Freshmen,  yet  it  is 
usually  in  sophomore  year  that  a  class  nine  attains  its 
greatest  efficiency.  After  that,  its  best  men  are  drawn 
into  the  University  club,  and  though  the  separate  organ 
ization  may  be  kept  up  for  the  first  part  of  junior  year, 
it  is  almost  certain  to  be  abandoned  before  the  fourth 


3J4  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

year  opens.  The  game  first  assumed  its  present  impor 
tance  as  a  leading  sport  of  college  at  about  the  time 
when  '69  entered  the  institution,  in  the  autumn  of  1865, 
—though  clubs  had  at  times  figured  in  the  Banner  for 
a  half-dozen  years  preceding.  In  the  University  nine, 
then  for  the  first  time  organized,  there  were  three  Fresh 
men.  The  class  club,  at  the  close  of  freshman  year, 
beat  the  corresponding  club  of  Harvard,  36  to  33  ;  and 
again,  a  year  later,  23  to  22.  It  then  became  absorbed 
in  the  University  nine,  which  for  the  three  following 
years  suffered  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Harvard  :  July 
25,  1868,— 17  to  25  ;  July  5,  1869,— 24  to  41  ;  July  4, 
1870, — 22  to  24.  There  have  been  four  other  matches 
between  as  many  successive  freshman  classes  in  the  two 
colleges:  'yo's,  in  1867,— 38  to  18  ;  yi's,  in  1868,— 18 
to  36;  72's,  in  1869,— 28  to  19;  and  '73*3,  in  1870,— 
21  to  1 8.  Yale,  therefore,  has  won  five  out  of  the  six 
Class  matches  with  Harvard,  but  has  lost  all  three  of  the 
University  contests.  In  1869,  the  University  match 
was  played  at  Brooklyn,  and  the  freshman  match  at 
Providence  ;  in  1870,  the  corresponding  localities  were 
New  Haven  and  Springfield  •  all  previous  games  had 
been  played  at  Worcester  during  the  week  of  the 
regatta. 

Up  to  the  exit  of  '69, — which  class  was  represented 
in  every  game,— the  University  had  played  with  and 
defeated  the  University  nines  of  Wesleyan,  Columbia, 
Princeton,  and  Williams  j  and  had  engaged  in  24  games 
with  ii  different  non-collegiate  clubs,  in  half  of  which 
it  was  victorious,  with  a  total  score  of  547  to  427. 
From  that  time  till  the  close  of  1870,  it  played  and  was 
defeated  in  two  college  matches,— by  St.  John's,  June 
i,— 19  to  13  ;  by  Princeton,  July  6,— 26  to  15  ;  was 
victorious  in  four  games  played  with  two  amateur  clubs 
of  Connecticut,  by  a  score  of  136  to  56;  and  was 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3T5 

defeated  in  all  but  one  of  six  games  played  with  five 
professional  clubs,  by  a  score  of  63  to  176, — the  suc 
cessful  game  being  that  with  .the  Lowells,  June  17, — 14 
to  8.  The  first  two  trials  of  187 1,  which  are  the  only 
ones  that  can  be  recorded  here,  were  :  with  the  Mutuals, 
May  6, — 10  to  20;  with  the  Eckfords,  May  13, — 17  to 
14.  Two  previous  (1870)  games  with  the  former  club 
had  resulted :  12  to  49  ;  9  to  31  ;  and  one  (1869)  with 
the  latter :  8  to  24.  The  other  professionals  included 
in  the  previous  summary  were  :  the  Athletics,  12  to  29, 
and  the  White  Stockings,  8  to  35.  Probably  as  large  a 
number  of  matches  as  those  here  recorded  have  been 
played  in  the  interval  by  the  various  class  clubs,  but  the 
only  college  contests  of  the  sort,  aside  from  those  with 
Harvard,  were  the  1867  games  of  the  '69  Sophomores 
against  Princeton:  May  4, — 52  to  58  ;  June  27, — 40  to 
3o(?);  and  the  1870  game  of  the  '71  Juniors  against  the 
University  nine  of  Trinity  :  June  i , — 26  to  19.  Matches 
between  the  different  classes,  or  between  Class  and  Uni 
versity,  have  also  been  quite  common.  At  the  opening 
of  the  season  of  1870  a  member  of  the  graduating  class 
offered  for  competition  a  champion  flag,  the  first  posses 
sion  of  which  was  decided  in  this  wise  :  the  Seniors 
played  with  the  Sophomores,  the  Juniors  with  the  Fresh 
men,  and  the  victors  in  these  two  trials — Juniors  and 
Sophomores — fought  for  the  championship,  which  was 
won  by  the  former,  but  afterwards  taken  by  the  latter 
('72),  by  whom,  spite  of  several  contests,  it  has  since 
been  retained.  A  single  game  decides  the  matter,  and 
the  holders  are  constantly  open  to  challenge,  and,  if 
Seniors,  must,  upon  graduation,  surrender  the  flag  to 
the  incoming  senior  class.  Matches  for  the  champion 
ship  are  rather  discouraged  by  the  captain  of  the  Uni 
versity,  as  tending  to  impair  the  efficiency  of  his  nine, 
by  absorbing  a  half  holiday  which  had  better  be  spent 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

in  a  University  match  of  some  sort.  Excepting  the 
trials  with  Harvard,  the  first  '69  sophomore  match  with 
Princeton,  and  the  '71  junior  match  against  the  Univer 
sity  nine  of  Trinity,  all  the  college  games  have  been 
played  at  New  Haven,  as  have  also  a  great  majority  of 
the  others.  It  is  expected,  however,  that  during  the 
next  long  vacation  the  University  nine  will  make 
arrangements  for  an  extended  tour  and  trial  of  skill  with 
the  best  local  clubs  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 
The  enthusiasm  over  base-ball  was  never  as  high  at 
Yale  as  now,  and  the  nine  is  confessedly  superior  to 
any  other  that  has  yet  represented  the  college.  In  the 
victory  of  May  17,  its  members  were:  four  Juniors, 
three  Freshmen,  one  Senior,  and  one  Sophomore. 

The  ball-ground,  where  all  of  the  matches  and  most 
of  the  practice  games  are  played,  is  at  Hamilton  Park, 
situated  about  two  miles  from  the  colleges,  on  the  line 
of  the  horse  railway.  When  the  reputation  of  the  con 
testants  will  warrant  it,  an  admission  fee  is  charged  ; 
and  the  receipts  obtained  in  this  way  are  often  consid 
erable,  as  an  important  "match  game"  is  quite  certain 
to  attract  a  good  many  spectators,  both  from  town  and 
college.  A  professional  club  stipulates  in  advance  for 
a  certain  share  of  the  gate  money,  as  a  half,  or  two 
thirds  ;  otherwise  it  is  kept  by  the  Yale  men  to  help 
pay  for  the  necessary  expenses.  These  are,  in  one  way 
and  another,  considerable  ;  and  when  a  class  club  is  to 
be  fitted  out  with  new  uniforms  and  equipments  for  a 
contest  with  Harvard,  or  is  to  entertain  guests  from 
another  college,  it  has  to  ask  pecuniary  aid  from  those 
who  are  willing  to  support  a  class  "  institution  "  in  which 
they  themselves  have  no  personal  interest.  So,  too,  in 
similar  cases,  subscription  papers  for  the  benefit  of  the 
University  club  are  circulated  through  all  the  classes, — 
especially  in  those  which  have  no  separate  clubs  of  their 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3  J  7 

own  to  demand  their  assistance.  Self-appointed  Soph 
omores  of  '68  had  a  trick,  early  in  the  year,  of  collect 
ing  subscriptions  for  this  and  other  "causes"  from  ver 
dant  Freshmen,  and  "  going  on  a  bum  "  with  the  money 
thus  extorted ;  but  they  are  believed  to  have  been  with 
out  successors  in  their  rascality. 

Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoons  are  the  times  spe 
cially  set  apart  for  the  sport  by  its  votaries,  and  are  the 
only  times  when  the  faculty  allow  the  playing  of  matches 
with  outside  clubs,  though  class  matches  are  for  reason 
sometimes  played  upon  other  days.  An  open  lot  within 
a  half  mile  of  college  is  to  some  extent  made  to  do  duty 
as  a  practice  ground,  though  possessed  of  little  save  its 
proximity  to  recommend  it.  "  Muffins,"  or  clubs  which 
make  no  pretence  to  good  playing,  are  its  chief  patrons. 
"Pass  ball"  was  considerably  practised  in  the  gymnasium 
yard,  and  to  some  extent  on  the  college  or  city  green, 
where,  in  these  latter  cases,  players  were  exposed  to  fine 
by  the  college  authorities,  or  arrest  by  the  city  police. 
But  recently,  as  the  faculty  have  sanctioned  the  tossing 
of  ball  within  certain  limits  of  the  college  yard,  the 
other  places  are  deserted,  and  the  practice  in  the  yard 
is  constant.  The  faculty  consent  rather  grudgingly  to  a 
club's  playing  outside  of  New  Haven,  in  term  time,  and 
occasionally  forbid  it  altogether,  though  recently  they 
have  adopted  the  rule  of  allowing  three  such  games 
each  term.  Sometimes  when  they  permit  a  game,  for 
which  the  arrangements  have  been  made,  they  allow  no 
friends  and  backers  to  accompany  the  actual  players  on 
the  journey  ;  the  time  of  the  game  is  usually  so  fixed 
that  the  absentees  need  lose  but  one  or  at  the  most  two 
recitations.  But  there  are  always  stragglers,  and  those 
who  return  promptly  are  not  apt  to  "  rush,"  when  called 
up  the  morning  after  a  ball  match. 

The  vanquished  party  in  a  ball  match   always  yields 


3*8  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

up  its  ball  as  a  token  of  defeat ;  and  a  Junior  of  '69, 
who  was  an  officer  of  the  University  ball  club,  collected 
these  emblems  of  victory  that  had  been  won  from  out 
siders  by  the  college  clubs,  had  them  gilded  and  in 
scribed  with  the  time  and  place  of  the  match,  the  names 
of  the  contesting  clubs,  and  the  score,  and  placed  them  in 
an  ornamental  case,  in  which  they  were  displayed  for  a 
year  or  two,  in  Hoadley's  window.  But  the  custom  was 
not  kept  up,  on  account  of  its  expensiveness,  and  the  case 
with  its  original  contents  has  now  been  banished  to  the 
room  of  the  club  president.  Relations  with  an  amateur 
or  professional  club  usually  extend  no  further  than  the 
game  itself,  and  the  same  holds  good  of  the  annual  con 
tests  with  Harvard,  which  are  held  on  neutral  ground 
(though  the  University  match  of  1870  was  necessarily 
played  at  New  Haven).  But  when  another  college  club 
is  invited  to  Yale,  or  a  Yale  club  is  invited  to  another 
college,  for  a  friendly  trial  of  skill,  thjere  is  usually  an 
expressed  or  implied  understanding  that  the  club  shall 
bring  along  its  friends,  and  all  take  part  in  a  general 
jollification.  Thus  the  Yale  club,  after  beating  the 
Columbia  men,  treated  them  to  a  good  supper,  which 
the  latter  reciprocated  by  instituting  an  elaborate  ban 
quet  on  the  occasion  of  the  proposed  "  return  match" 
which  the  weather  prevented  from  being  played.  The 
'69  Sophomores  were  likewise  most  hospitably  enter 
tained  by  the  Princeton  Sophs  who  defeated  them,  and 
were  loud  in  their  promises  of  a  complimentary  return. 
Yet  for  some  unknown  reason  neither  they,  nor  their 
University  club,  when  they  came  to  New  Haven,  were 
shown  any  special  attention  by  the  Yale  men,  and  they 
naturally  felt  aggrieved  in  consequence.  Whatever  the 
cause  of  this  cavalier  treatment,  it  seems  to  have  been 
inexcusable,  and  it  certainly  was  regretted.  That  it  was 
entirely  exceptional  is  perhaps  the  best  that  can  be  said  of 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3 1 9 

the  discourtesy.  At  these  inter-collegiate  suppers,  perhaps 
there  is  more  wine  disposed  of  than  is  absolutely  neces 
sary,  yet  the  rule  is  honest  hilarity  rather  than  drunken 
ness.  Such  gatherings,  next  to  secret-society  conven 
tions,  furnish  the  chief  medium  through  which  under 
graduates  of  different  colleges  can  become  acquainted, 
and,  if  kept  free  from  excesses,  are  manifestly  advanta 
geous  to  all  concerned  in  them. 

Nothing  has  thus  far  been  described  in  this  chapter 
which  could  not  with  almost  equal  reason  be  included 
in  those  which  follow  ;  yet  up  to  a  recent  period  Sopho 
more  Year  was  possessed  of  one  distinctive  custom, — 
the  ceremony  known  as  the  "  Burial  of  Euclid."  As 
long. ago  as  1843  the  custom  was  said  to  have  been 
"  handed  down  from  time  immemorial" ;  and  with  this 
preface  a  writer  of  the  period  thus  goes  on  to  describe 
it :  "  This  book  [Euclid],  the  terror  of  the  dilatory  and 
unapt,  having  at  length  been  completely  mastered,  the 
class,  as  their  acquaintance  with  the  Greek  mathema 
tician  is  about  to  close,  assemble  [by  divisions  ?]  in  their 
respective  places  of  meeting,  and  prepare  (secretly  for 
fear  of  the  faculty)  for  the  anniversary.  The  necessary 
committee  having  been  appointed,  and  the  regular  prep 
arations  ordered,  a  ceremony  has  sometimes  taken  place 
like  the  following  :  The  huge  poker  is  heated  in  the  old 
stove  and  driven  through  the  smoking  volume,  and  the 
division,  marshalled  in  line,  for  once  at  least  '  see 
through'  the  whole  affair.  They  then  '  understand'  it, 
as  it  is  passed  above  their  heads  ;  and  they  finally  march 
over  it  in  solemn  procession,  and  are  enabled,  as  they 
step  firmly  on  its  covers,  to  assert  with  truth  that  they 
have  '  gone  over'  it — poor  jokes,  indeed,  but  sufficient  to 
afford  abundant  laughter.  And  then  follow  speeches, 
comical  and  pathetic,  and  shouting  and  merriment. 
The  night  assigned  having  arrived,  how  carefully  they 


320  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

assemble,  all  silent,  at  the  place  appointed  !     Laid  on  its 
bier,  covered  with  sable  pall,  and  borne  in  solemn  state, 
the  corpse  (/.  e.,  the  book)  is  carried  with  slow  proces 
sion,  with  the  moaning  music   of  flutes  and  fifes,  the 
screaming  of  fiddles,  and  thumping  and  mumbling  of  a 
cracked  drum,  to  the  opened  grave  or  the  funeral  pyre. 
A  gleaming  line  of  blazing  torches  and  twinkling  lan 
terns,  moves  along  the  quiet  streets  and  through  the  open 
fields,  and  the  snow  creaks  hoarsely  under  the  tread  of 
a  hundred  men.     They  reach   the   scene,   and  a  circle 
formed  around  the  consecrated  spot ;  if  the  ceremony  is 
a  burial,  the  defunct  is  laid  all  carefully  in  his  grave, 
and   then  his  friends  celebrate  in   prose    or  verse  his 
memory,  his  virtues,  and  his  untimely  end  :    and  three 
oboli  are  tossed  into  his  tomb  to  satisfy  the  surly  boat 
man  of  the  Styx.     Lingeringly  is  the  last  look  taken  of 
the  familiar  countenance,  as  the  procession  passes  slowly 
around  the  tomb  ;  and  a  moaning  is  made — a  sound  of 
groans  going  up  to  the  seventh  heaven— and  the  earth 
is  thrown   in,   and  the  headstone  with  epitaph  placed 
duly  to  hallow  the  grave  of  the  dead.     Or  if,  according 
to  the  custom  of  his  native  land,   the  pyre,   duly  pre 
pared  with  combustibles,  is  make  the  center  of  the  ring; 
a  ponderous  jar  of  turpentine  or  whisky  is  the  fragrant 
incense,  and  as  the  lighted  fire   mounts  up  in  the  still 
night,  and  the   alarm  sounds  dim  in   the  distance,  the 
eulogium  is  spoken,  and  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 
dead  honored  ;  the  urn  receives  the  sacred  ashes,  which, 
borne  in  solemn  procession,  are  placed  on  some  conspic 
uous  situation,   or  solemnly  deposited  in  some  fitting 
sarcophagus.     So  the  sport  ends  ;  a  song,  a  loud  hurrah, 
and  the   last  jovial  roysterer  seek  short  and  profound 
slumber." 

A  member  of  the  class  of  '38  writes  that  during  his 
college  career  the  Burial  "was  talked  of  as  a  thing  once 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  32  * 

practised " ;  though  it  is  probable  that  the  ceremonies 
had  been  less  elaborate  than  those  which  were  in  vogue 
in  1843.  When  the  study  of  Euclid  was  restricted  to 
freshman  year,  the  ceremony  was  not  abandoned,  nor 
the  time  of  holding  it  changed.  The  preliminary  meet 
ing  in  the  division  rooms,  for  the  purpose  of  "  under 
standing,"  "going  over"  and  "  seeing  through"  the  book, 
was  naturally  given  up,  but  the  custom  was  held  on  to 
by  the  Sophomores,  instead  of  being  transferred  to  the 
Freshmen  and  celebrated  by  them  at  the  actual  time  of 
finishing  the  study.  It  is  possible  that  the  Burial  was 
omitted  by  some  classes,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  ob 
served  pretty  regularly  by  most,  for  the  Lit.  speaks  of  it 
in  1857  as  "the  annual  disgrace,"  and  a  year  later 
Davenport's  well-known  lithographic  sketch  of  the  cer 
emony  was  published,  accompanied  by  a  description, — 
to  be  quoted  from  hereafter.  The  Masonic  "  Temple," 
on  the  corner  of  Court  and  Orange  streets,  was  the  place 
where  the  opening  rites  used  to  be  held,  the  crowd 
marching  thither  from  the  rendezvous  on  the  State 
House  steps.  The  building  was  also  in  those  days  often 
used  by  collegians  for  other  celebrations, — Freshman 
Initiation,  and  the  Wooden  Spoon  Exhibition,  at  times 
being  held  there.  The  Burial  took  place  about  the  mid 
dle  of  the  first  term,  though  the  mention  of  snow  in  the 
account  already  quoted  would  imply  a  later  date  as  cus 
tomary  in  those  earlier  years.  Many  and  perhaps  all  in 
the  two  upper  classes  were  made  acquainted  with  the 
password  that  would  admit  them  to  the  exhibition,  but 
the  few  townsmen  who  managed  to  slip  in  were  there  by 
sufferance  rather  than  invitation.  The  town  rabble  of 
course  followed  the  procession  from  the  hall  to  the  fu 
neral  pile,  perhaps  with  a  few  upper-class  men  among 
them,  though  most  of  these  no  doubt  kept  away  from 
the  burning.  The  printed  programmes,  and  the  various 


322  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

original  songs,  poems,  orations  and  speeches,  aimed  to 
be  witty,  but,  like  those  of  the  freshman  Pow-wow,  too 
often  succeeded  in  being  simply  vulgar  and  obscene. 
Indecent  jokes  at  the  expense  of  unpopular  tutors 
and  professors,  as  well  as  of  Euclid  himself,  were  all 
too  common,  and  these,  combined  with  other  excesses, 
finally  brought  the  custom  to  its  downfall.  In  one  class 
only  (?53)>  the  oration,  speeches,  songs,  and  the  rest, 
were  all  published,  in  a  covered  pamphlet,  of  which— 
fortunately  for  the  credit  of  all  concerned — but  few 
copies  were  printed.  The  account  accompanying  the 
lithograph  of  1858,  already  noted,  says  : 

"Late  on  some  dark  October  evening,  mysterious 
forms,  under  cover  of  fiendish  masks  and  satanic  habili 
ments,  are  seen  pointing  in  silence  and  with  solemn 
tread  toward  the  'Temple.'  Repeating  the  Homeric 
password,  they  file  up  the  winding  staircase,  guarded  by 
the  gleaming  swords  of  the  '  force  committee,'  and  enter 
the  hall,  already  echoing  with  the  shouts  and  songs  of 
the  assembled  multitude.  On  the  stage  in  front  lies  an 
effigy  ;  and  the  likeness  thereof  is  of  an  aged  man  ;  and 
the  name  thereof  is  Euclid.  Around  the  effigy  are 
innumerable  Sophomores,  dancing  and  singing  in  solemn 
measure : 

"  'In  the  arms  of  death  old  Euclid  slccpcth, 

Sleepeth  calmly  now ; 
And  corruption's  ghastly  dampness  creepeth 

O'er  his  pallid  brow. 
His  triangles,  which  so  often  floored  us, 

Soon  shall  find  their  grave  ; 
He'll  try  rt  ;/£////£•  with  the  lines  that  bored  us, 

In  the  Stygian  wave. 

"His  accounts  all  squared,  he  hath  departed 

From  his  earthly  sphere ; 
On  a  narrow  bier  his  body  \r  carted, 
Not  a  la(r}ger  bier. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  323 

We've  described  the  space  of  his  existence, 

In  these  given  lines, 
And  we'll  burn  old  Euclid  in  the  distance, 

'Xeath  the  waving  pines.' 

"  The  wild,  grotesque  hilarity  of  these  midnight  songs, 
"when  once  experienced,  can  never  be  forgotten.  Oration, 
poem,  and  funeral  oration  follow,  interrupted  with  songs 
and  music  from  the  band:  'Old  Grimes  is  dead,' 
'  Music  from  the  Spheres/  and  other  choice  and  solemn 
masterpieces.  Then  are  torches  lighted,  and  two-by- 
two  the  long  train  of  torch  bearers  defile  through  the 
silent  midnight  streets,  to  the  swell  of  solemn  music, 
and  passing  by  the  dark  cemetery  of  the  real  dead,  bear 
through  'Tutor's  Lane'  the  wrapt  coffin  of  Father 
Euclid.  They  climb  the  hill,  and  in  the  neighboring 
field  commit  it  to  the  flames  of  the  funeral  pyre,  invok 
ing  Pluto  in  Latin  prayers,  and  chanting  a  final  dirge  ; 
while  the  flare  of  torches,  the  wild  grotesqueness  of  each 
uncouthly-disguised  wight,  and  the  background  of  cold, 
starlit  sky,  and  dark  encircling  forest,  makes  the  wild 
merriment  seem  almost  solemn." 

In  the  lithograph,  "  the  scene  represented  is  the  cere 
mony  at  the  funeral  pyre,  when  the  flames  are  already 
kindled,  and  the  priest  is  dooming  the  shade  of  the 
departed  to  the  endless  pains  of  the  bottomless  pit. 
On  the  left  is  seen  a  band  of  jolly  students — Euclid 
haters — mounting  the  hill  of  science  with  the  aid  of 
ponies  and  wings,  all  in  a  state  of  great  hilarity,  with 
the  exception  of  one,  whose  refractory  steed  gives  a 
downward  tendency  to  his  movements.  On  the  right 
are  seen  the  infernals  bearing  away  the  body  of  Euclid 
in  triumph,  and  in  the  foreground  a  weeping  crocodile 
is  represented  as  shedding  significant  tears.  In  the 
left  hand  corner,  the  sad  effects  of  overmuch  study  are 
faithfully  represented  by  the  wan  features  and  forlorn 


3?4  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

appearance  of  the  mathematical '  dig,'  and  directly  above 
appears  a  figure  expressive  of  intense  hatred  for  mathe 
matics.  In  the  other  corner  a  clump  of  students  are 
*  draining  the  flowing  bowl,'  and  reclining  above  them  is 
the  patron  goddess  of  mirth.  Over  all  and  above  all  is 
seen  the  Presiding  Genius  of  Mathematics,  in  despair  at' 
the  sad  fate  of  the  great  geometrician.  He  sits  on  a 
throne  of  hyperbolas  and  arching  parabolas,  circum 
scribed  by  spherical  fiends  and  segments  of  oblique- 
angled  devils,  while  his  great  right  hand  is  grasping  the 
tangents  and  cycloidal  curves  which  compose  his  mathe 
matical  thunderbolts. 

"  Farewell,  Old  Euclid  !     Long  for  thee 

The  tear  of  grief  shall  flow  ; 
In  plahi-iivo.  song  and  1  e  g, 

The  world  thy  fame  shall  know." 

The  last  Burial  was  by  the  class  of  '63.  Only  a 
minority  of  the  class  before  them  had  entered  into  the 
celebration;  and  " on  the  third  of  October,  1860,  the 
sophomore  class  ['63]  indefinitely  postponed  the  Burial 
of  Euclid,  by  the  decisive  vote  of  53  to  31,  which, 
though  not  a  full  vote,  we  are  told  fairly  represented  the 
class  sentiment.  All  honor,  then,  say  we,  to  those  who 
have  thus  tried  to  root  out  this  miserable  fungus,  which 
has  been  so  long  vegetating  about  the  college.  Though 
universally  recognized  as  a  nuisance  by  all  sensible 
men,  of  every  class,  it  has  strangely  lingered  along,  a 
sickly  but  tenacious  existence,  backed  only  by  such 
adjuncts  as,  anywhere  else,  would  subject  their  advocate 
to  derision."  So  said  the  Lit.  for  October,  which  seems 
to  have  been  a  little  premature  in  its  rejoicings,  for  the 
December  number  tells  another  story,  thus  :  "  The  usual 
notice  of  the  pass-word,  at  the  usual  time,  was  passed 
around  the  various  classes  in  college,  and  for  once  was 
unheralded  by  the  diabolical  screechings  of  tin  horns. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3  2  5 

If  there  was  one  nuisance  more  than  another  about 
college,  which  used  to  make  our  teeth  grate  and  our 
blood  boil,  it  was  the  unearthly  howlings  of  sophomoric 
tin  horns.  If  only  a  little  more  digestible,  we  would 
like  to  have  seen  every  one  of  them  rammed  down  their 
owners'  throats.  The  committee  having  charge  of  the 
present  celebration,  in  requesting  everybody  to  keep 
their  tin  horns  at  home,  acted  like  sensible  men.  They 
showed  a  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  sick  in  the  city, 
which  was  certainly  commendable.  At  ten  o'clock 
Friday  night,  November  16,  all  who  wished  to  participate 
in  the  proceedings  assembled  on  the  State  House  steps  ; 
and,  after  lighting  their  torches  formed  their  procession , 
and  headed  by  the  New  Haven  band  marched  past  the 
colleges,  then  down  Chapel  street  to  Union  Hall,  which, 
in  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  somebody  to  let  them 
have  the  Temple,  had  been  secured  for  the  exercises  of 
the  evening.  We  have  understood  that  these  were  rather 
tame,  but  they  deserve  no  little  praise  for  the  absence  of 
the  usual  characteristics  of  Burial-of-Euclid  speeches. 
Though  the  programme  was  not  overstocked  with  wit, 
the  performance  was  nevertheless,  in  many  respects,  an 
improvement  upon  those  of  preceding  years.  The 
procession  itself  was  very  orderly  and,  under  the  circum 
stances,  a  very  fine  one.  The  fact  is,  that  if  it  were  not 
for  the  perfectly  outrageous  excesses  which  characterize 
these  exercises,  both  in  the  street  and  in  the  hall,  and 
which  disgust  the  greater  part  of  college,  this  procession, 
with  its  grotesque  and  goblin  disguises,  its  torches  and 
brilliant  fireworks,  and  the  opportunity  it  affords  for  fine 
masquerade  display,  would  be  something  in  which  all 
college  could  engage,  and  thus  produce  a  magnificent 
procession  at  night,  which  would  at  least  suggest  some 
thing  like  that  of  the  old  carnivals  at  Rome."  But  the 
class  of  '64,  without  any  "  voting"  upon  the  matter,  next 


3 2(5  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

year  allowed  the  burial  time  to  pass  by  without  demon 
stration  of  any  sort ;  and  their  successors  have  followed 
their  example. 

This  was  perhaps  the  oldest  distinctively  student 
custom  known  to  the  institution,  and  had  probably  been 
observed  to  some  extent  for  ne'arly  half  a  century,  at 
the  time  of  its  downfall.  Flourishing  at  a  period  when 
the  average  undergraduate  was  three  or  four  years 
younger  than  he  now  is,  it  had  a  zest  to  him  which  his 
older  and  manlier  successor  knows  nothing  of.  The 
latter's  advance  in  age  and  "civilization"  are  a  sufficient 
explanation  of  its  abandonment.  It  seems  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  numerous  "  burials  "  and  "  burnings" 
of  particular  text  books,  still  in  vogue  at  the  lesser  col 
leges  and  academies,  are  all  the  children  of  this  vener 
able  parent,  now  ten  years  dead.  Tradition  still  keeps 
the  name  alive  at  Yale,  yet  everything  save  the  name  is 
falling  quite  out  of  memory  among  the  present  genera 
tion  of  undergraduates,  few  of  whom  ever  think  that 
they  are  referring  to  the  old  "  Burial  of  Euclid  "  cere 
mony  when  they  glibly  rattle  off  the  song: 

"  In  soph'more  year  we  have  our  task, — 

Fol,  de  rol,  de  rol,  rol,  rol ! 
'Tis  best  performed  by  torch  and  mask, — 
Fol,  de  rol,  de  rol,  rol,  rol  !  " 


CHAPTER    III. 
JUNIOR      YEAR. 

BOATING— The  Decade  Ending  in  1853 — Organization  of  the  Yale 
Navy — Catalogue  of  Boats  —  Formation  of  Permanent  Boat 
Clubs  in  1860 — Their  Boats— Adoption  of  the  Present  System 
in  1868-70— Third  List  of  Boats— Riker's  and  the  Boat  House 
of  1859— Dedication  of  the  Present  Boat  House— Incorporation 
of  the  Navy— The  Boat  House  Lease — Payment  of  the  Debt  by 
the  Commodore  of  '70 — The  Annual  Commencement  Regattas, 
1853-58— The  Fall  Races,  1858-67— Course  of  the  Champion 
Flag,  1853-71— The  Regattas  on  Lake  Saltonstall — The  Phelps 
Barge  Races  and  the  Southworth  Cup  —  Irregular  Regattas, 
1856-65— Uniforms  and  Flags — Yale  against  Harvard  —  The 
First  Period,  1852-60— The  Second  Period,  1864-70 — The  Lesser 
Races  of  this  Period— The  Seven  Great  University  Races — Re 
gatta  Day  at  Worcester — Student  Rowdyism — Blue  and  Red — 
Betting  —  Dress,  Training  and  Trainers — Attempt  to  Belittle 
Yale's  Triumph  in  1865 — Refusal  of  Harvard  to  Answer  the 
Challenge  of  1871— The  Seven  University  Crews— GYMNASTICS 
— The  Practise  of  Boating  Men — The  Favorite  Hour  for  Exer 
cise—The  Annual  Exhibition  —  THE  WOODEN  SPOON  PRES 
ENTATION — Origin  of  the  Idea — Mode  of  Electing  the  Cochleau- 
reati  —  Political  Considerations  —  Initiation,  and  the  Spoon — 
"  Insigne  Cochleaureatorum'' — The  Temple  Exhibitions — Hum 
bugging  an  Audience — Brewster's  and  Music  Halls — The  Opening 
Loads — Philosophical  Orations — Changes  in  the  Exhibition — 
Its  Increased  Cost,  and  How  it  was  Met — Mode  of  Distributing 
Tickets  and  Reserved  Seats— Character  of  the  Audience — The 
Promenade  Concert — Abolition  of  the  Spoon  by  '72— Proposed 
Substitute  for  the  Exhibition  and  Concert— Society  Statistics. 

With  the  same  amount  of  reason  that  Base  Ball  was 
allotted  to  the  last  chapter,  Boating  may  find  a  place  in 
the  present  one,  for  though  all  classes  enter  into  it,  the 
Juniors  are  usually  its  strongest  supporters.  Eighteen 


328  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

years  ago  the  "  Yale  Navy"  was  first  organized,  and 
boating  had  been  practised  by  irregular  clubs  of  students 
for  some  ten  years  precedeing.  William  J.  Weeks  of 
'44  has  the  credit  of  introducing  it.  Forming  a  club  of 
a  half-dozen  other  Juniors,  who  afterwards  elected  him 
captain,  he  purchased  a  second-hand  four-oared  White 
hall  boat,  19  feet  long  and  4  feet  beam,  built  in  March, 
J837,  by  De  la  Montagnie  &  Son  of  New  York.  This 
boat  arrived  at  New  Haven  May  24,  1843,  was  named 
Pioneer,  and  on  the  loth  of  June  hoisted  the  flag 
"  Pioneer,  Yale,  No.  i."  A  year  later  the  club  rowed 
it  across  the  Sound,  on  an  excursion  to  Long  Island,  and 
at  the  time  of  graduation,  sold  it  to  the  toll-gate  keeper. 
A  month  or  two  after  the  Pioneer's  appearance,  two  sim 
ilar  boats  were  purchased  of  the  same  makers,  by  other 
clubs  of  Juniors,  and  finally  disposed  of  in  a  similar 
way.  One  was  called  the  Nautilus,  the  other  the  Iris  ; 
and  each  of  the  three  boats  cost  the  moderate  amount 
of  $38.25.  On  the  month  of  the  Pioneer's  arrival, 
came  also  a  large  dug-out  canoe,  built  on  the  Susque- 
hanna,  near  Binghamton,  two  or  three  years  before.  This 
was  42  feet  long,  24  inches  beam,  pulled  8  oars,  and 
cost  about  $45.  It  was  called  the  Centipede,  owned  by 
a  club  of  1 6  '45  men,  and  commanded  by  the  Jersey 
Sophomore  who  "  imported"  it.  After  two  years  of  ser 
vice  it  was  disposed  of,  for  one  ninth  its  original  cost,  to 
an  oysterman  and  is  probably  in  use  at  the  present  day. 
It  won  the  only  race  which  it  ever  engaged  in  :  its  com 
petitor,  the  Nautilus,  having  been  secretly  handicapped, 
by  a  huge  rock  attached  to  its  keel,  before  the  outset  of 
the  race  ! 

The  first  race-boat  built  for  Yale  was  the  Excelsior, 
launched  by  Brooks  &  Thatcher,  May  29,  1844,  and 
owned  successively  by  '47,  '48,  '50,  '52  and  '53 — the 
latter  class  holding  it  from  the  summer  of  1850  until 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  329 

the  "last  week  in  April,  1852,  when  it  came  to  an  un 
timely  end  by  sawing  itself  in  two  against  the  wharf." 
"  It  was  the  class  of  '47,  with  the  Excelsior,  that  gave 
the  first  impetus  to  racing  and  good  boat-building  at 
Yale.  The  crew  were  mostly  strong  and  good  oarsmen, 
and  more  than  once  pulled  in  a  race,  steadily,  from 
Sachem's  Head  to  the  wharf  at  New  Haven."  In  1847, 
the  Shawmut,  an  8-oared  3o-foot  boat,  built  near  Boston, 
in  1842,  for  an  infantry  company,  was*  bought  by  '48, 
and  a  year  later  sold  to  '51,  and  again,  after  three  years' 
use,  to  '53.  At  the  close  of  the  long  vacation  of  1852, 
the  boat  broke  loose  in  a  storm,  went  over  to  Long 
Island,  was  beached  by  fishermen,  and,  though  by  little 
injured,  left  there  to  rot.  From  the  sale  of  the  cushions, 
oars,  etc.,  enough  was  afterwards  realized  to  purchase  a 
handsome  gold  case  and  pen  for  the  captain,  Richard 
Waite,  subsequently  the  first  Commodore  of  the  Navy. 
"  The  sides  of  the  boat  were  canoe-shaped  instead  of 
flaring.  There  were  stern  sheets  for  6  passengers,  and 
the  captain's  seat,  at  the  extreme  stern  of  the  boat,  was 
elevated  above  the  gunnel  so  that  he  could  look  over 
the  heads  of  his  crew."  The  Osceola,  8  oars,  36  feet, 
was  built  in  February,  1838,  by  the  De  la  Montagnies, 
for  a  New  York  club  ;  sold  to  '48  and  again  to  '49  ;  and 
finally  in  1847  condemned  and  broken  up.  The  Augusta, 
8  oars,  38  feet,  built  by  the  same  makers,  about  1840, 
for  New  Yorkers,  "  was  clincher- built,  of  red  cedar,  with 
box-wood  ribs,  copper  fastened,  and  cost  when  new  $300, 
but  was  bought,  furnished,  in  1845,  by  '49,  for  $170,  and 
sold  to  '52  for  a  supper  !"  The  boat  was  wrecked,  one 
windy  afternoon  in  1850,  off  Cranes's  Bar,  while  being 
towed  with  a  load  of  straw  toward  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Hale,  where  the  crew  intended  to  offer  it  as  a  burnt 
sacrifice  to  Neptune.  The  Phantom,  four  and  then  five 
oars,  20  feet,  built  by  Brooks  &  Thatcher  in  1846,  was 


33°  FOUR  YEARS  A  T  YALE. 

sold  in  1851  to  '53,  and  returned  to  the  makers  a  year 
later,  in  part  payment  for  the  Undine.  It  was  owned 
through  freshman  year  by  '56,  then  sold  to  the  makers 
again,  and  by  them  to  a  vessel,  to  be  used  as  a 
quarter-boat.  It  served  as  the  "gig"  upon  which  the 
first  Commodore's  flag  was  hoisted.  In  May,  1851,  the 
Atalanta  barge,  6  oars,  30  feet,  built  by  Newman  of 
New  York,  was  bought  by  '52,  and  owned  successively 
by  '55'  '58  an€*  '61.  "Being  built  expressly  for  the 
ladies,  its  sea-going  qualities  were  unexceptionable." 
The  Halcyon,  8  oars,  39  feet,  was  bought  by  '54  in  May, 
1851,  of  the  Harvard  '51,  for  whom  it  had  been  built 
the  year  before.  When  the  owners  graduated  they 
thrust  a  hook  through  their  boat  and  set  it  adrift,  but 
some  one  beached  it  on  the  Fair  Haven  shore,  and  after 
lying  there  a  couple  of  years,  it  was  taken  by  the  Ata 
lanta  men,  on  payment  of  a  $10  salvage  fee,  repaired,  and 
sold  to  a  new  club  in  '58,  who  called  it  the  Wa-\Va. 
After  a  year's  use  under  this  name  it  was  wrecked  in  a 
storm.  The  Undine  barge,  8  oars,  30  feet,  built  by 
Brooks  &  Thatcher  in  June,  1852,  for  '53,  was  sold  by 
them  to  '56,  a  year  later,  at  an  advanced  price,  and  again, 
three  years  later,  to  some  Yale  graduates  resident  at 
Hartford.  The  Ariel,  4  oars,  30  feet,  built  in  1850,  by 
Darling,  for  the  Castle  Garden  Club, — who  called  it  the 
Gen.  Worth,  and  won  the  first  prize  at  the  Fair  of  the 
American  Institute  that  year,  against  three  competing 
boats  ;  and  again  at  Savannah  the  next  year,  where  they 
called  the  boat  the  Zachary  Taylor, — was  bought  in 
1852  by  the  Yale  Scientifics, — then  known  as  "  Engin 
eers."  Next  year  it  was  sold  to  '56,  then  to  the  Russell- 
ites,  then  to  '58,  and  shortly  before  that  class  graduated, 
it  became  the  property  of  the  Grammar  School  boys? 
who  called  it  Katoonah,  and  with  it  won  the  sixth  prize 
in  the  New  London  Regatta  of  July  6,  1858.  The 


y  'HE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  3  3  J 

Thulia  barge,  6  oars,  30  feet,  was  built  for  '54  by  James 
of  Brooklyn,  in  May,  1853,  and  two  months  later  won 
the  first  of  the  annual  races.  It  afterwards  belonged  to 
'56  and  '59.  The  Nepenthe,  4  oars,  35  feet,  was  built 
for  '55  by  Newman  of  New  York,  in  June,  1853,  and  a 
year  later  broke  from  its  moorings,  in  a  storm,  and 
drifted  over  to  Long  Island,  where,  oddly  enough,  it  was 
beached  near  the  house  of  one  of  its  crew,  and  left  there. 
Such  were  the  15  boats — 6  8-oared,  6  4-oared,  and  3 
6-oared — possessed  by  Yale  students  during  the  ten 
years  which  preceded  the  adoption  of  a  definite  system 
of  boating. 

In  June,  1853,  the  six  existing  clubs — Halcyon  and 
Thulia  of '54,  Atalanta  and  Nepenthe  of  '55,  Undine  of 
'56,  and  Ariel  of  the  Scientifics — joined  together  in 
forming  an  organization  called  the  Yale  Navy,  and 
adopted  a  constitution  for  its  government.  Under  this, 
the  general  officers  were  to  be  :  a  Commodore  from  the 
senior  class,  a  First  Fleet  Captain  from  the  junior  class, 
a  Second  Fleet  Captain  from  the  scientific  department, 
a  Secretary  and  a  Treasurer  from  the  sophomore  class. 
The  person  chiefly  instrumental  in  establishing  this 
organization  was  Richard  Waite  of  '53,  and,  in  recogni 
tion  of  his  services  he  was  elected  first  Commodore, 
though  graduation  time  was  almost  at  hand.  At  the 
opening  of  the  next  term  his  successor  was  chosen  from 
'54,  while  the  rest  of  the  officers  remained  unchanged 
till  the  end  of  the  year.  Then — in  June,  1854 — the 
second  regular  election  of  all  the  officers  was  held,  and 
N.  W.  Bumstead  of  '55— who,  like  W.  H.  L.  Barnes  of 
the  same  class  had  been  one  of  Waite's  chief  adjutants 
in  instituting  the  Navy — was  elected  third  Commodore. 
A  year  later  the  third  regular  election  was  held,  and 
shortly  afterwards  a  new  constitution  was  adopted  and 
put  in  print.  The  original  one  in  fact  was  non-existent, 


33 2  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  iirst  rough  draft  having  been  lost,  and  no  record  of 
amendments,  changes  in  elections,  etc.,  having  been 
kept  by  the  secretary.  Its  spirit,  however,  had  been 
observed,  and  the  constitution  of  1855  was  little  more 
than  an  attempt  to  embody  the  same  in  tangible  form. 
Some  changes  were  made,  however :  the  office  of  secre 
tary  was  abolished, — the  treasurer  being  instructed  to 
act  in  his  place, — and  the  annual  election  was  ordered 
to  be  held  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  the  fall  term. 
Other  rules  were  :  that  any  college  club,  on  application 
to  the  Commodore,  might  be  admitted  by  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  the  members  present  at  any  Navy  meeting,  and, 
for  bad  conduct,  be  expelled,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of 
the  other  clubs,  after  a  week's  notice  ;  that  a  represen 
tation  of  two-thirds  the  clubs  should  constitute  a  quo 
rum,  and  its  captain  and  two  members  be  sufficient  to 
represent  a  club  ;  that  any  general  officer  might  for  bad 
conduct  be  impeached,  and  if  unable  to  defend  himself 
after  a  week's  notice,  be  removed  by  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  the  clubs ;  that  the  Commodore  should  preside 
over  all  meetings  of  the  Navy,  and  be  assisted  at 
reviews  and  drills  by  the  Fleet  Captains,  and  that  these 
should  in  his  absence,  in  the  order  of  precedence,  fulfil 
his  duties  ;  that  all  officers  should  be  chosen  by  ballot, 
and  vacancies  be  filled  by  special  elections.  "  The 
champion  flag,  '  Pioneer,  Yale,  No.  I,'  shall  be  held  only 
by  Yale  boatmen,  and  shall  be  offered  at  the  Annual 
Yale  Ragatta  of  this  year  [1855],  and  of  that  of  each 
succeeding  year,  in  connexion  with  the  first  prize,  as  a 
Champion  Flag.  The  holder  of  it  may  be  challenged 
at  any  time  during  the  boating  season,  by  any  other 
Yale  boat,  the  race  ensuing  to  take  place  as  agreed  by 
the  challenging  and  challenged  parties,  or,  if  they  can 
not  agree,  then  at  the  expiration  of  four  weeks  from  the 
receipt  of  the  challenge,  if  the  challenged  party  refuse 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  333 

to  pull  as  agreed  or  required,  the  flag  shall  be  given  up 
to  the  party  challenging.     All  disputes  to  be  settled  by 
the  prudential  committee  "  (consisting  of  Commodore, 
First  Fleet  Captain  and  treasurer).     Such  was  the  sys 
tem  under  which  the  Navy  went  through  its  first  decade. 
A  year  after  its  organization,  10  boats  belonged  to  it. 
There  were  the  6  mentioned  at  the  head  of  the  last  par 
agraph—the  Ariel  being  held  by  '56— and  4  new  ones  : 
the  Alida,  Rowena,  and  Nautilus  of  '57,  and  the  Tran 
sit  of  the  Scientifics:  all  of  which  were  buih  specially 
for  the  crews  then  holding  them,  and  were — save  the 
Rowena,  4  oars— 6-oared  boats.     The  Alida,  barge,  30 
feet,  built  by  Ingersoll  of  New  York,  was  afterwards 
sold  to  the  Scientifics,  and  again  to  '60.     The  Nautilus, 
race  boat,  40  feet,  built  by  James  of  Brooklyn ,  won  the 
regatta  of  the  year,  and  was  sold  to  '59.     The  Rowena, 
race  boat,  35  feet,  built  by  Darling  of  New  York,  was 
sold  next  year  to  to  '58,  a  year  later  to  the  Russellites, 
and  again  in  r86o  to  the  Glyuna  club.     The  Transit,  40 
feet,  Darling  builder,  won  the  regatta  of  two  years  later 
[1856],  was  sold  next  spring  to  '60,  and  by  them  in  the 
fall  to  a  Springfield  club,  by  whom   it  was  called  the 
Naiad.     During  the  next  year  [1855-6],  the  Ariel  and 
Nepenthe  dropped  out  of  the  Navy,  and  one  new  boat 
was  added  to  it :  the  Nereid,  6  oars,  40  feet,  built  by 
James  of  Brooklyn  for  '58,  which  after  two  years'  ser 
vice — winning  the  regattas  of  1855  and  '57 — was  sold 
to  '6 1.     The  fourth  year  [1856-7]  found  10  boats  in  the 
Navy,  3  of  them  new  ones,  of  which  two  were  built  for 
the  purchasers.     The  Undine  and  Rowena  had  left  the 
Navy,  and  the  old  Halcyon  reappeared  as  the  Wa-Wa. 
The  Wenona,  racer,  41   feet,   James   builder,   and  the 
Varuna,  45  feet,  clincher-built,  decked  with  rubber,  In 
gersoll  builder,  belonged  to  '60, — the  latter  being  the 
first  boat  mentioned  as  rowed  without    a  coxswain, — 


334  FOUR   YEARS  A  T  YALE. 

both  carrying  6  oars, — while  the  Olympia,  8  oars,  46 
feet,  was  bought  in  Boston  by  the  Scientifics.  Built  at 
St.  Johns,  N.  B.,  in  1848,  by  Coyle  £:  Sterling,  it  was 
called  the  Sand  Cove,  won  a  race,  was  sent  to  Boston 
in  1853  as  the  Maid  of  Erin  and  defeated,  but,  as  the 
Olympia,  won  the  first  prize  at  the  New  London  regatta 
of  July  6,  1858.  Of  the  10  boats  held  during  this 
fourth  year  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  8  were  6-oared  and  2 
8-oared.  The  spring  and  summer  of  the  next  year,  1858, 
saw  a  half-dozen  new  boats  in  the  Navy's  possession — 
all  but  one  of  them  direct  from  the  builders :  A  second 
Varuna  (barge),  6  oars,  33  feet,  Darling  builder,  called 
the  "Varuna  Prime,"  from  its  flag  "  V"  for  the  club  of 
that  name  in  '60  ;  the  Cymothoe  and  the  Lorelei,  45 
feet,  6-oared  race  boats,  built  for  '61,  by  James  and  In- 
gersoll,  respectively  ;  the  clincher-built  shell  Olympia, 
4  oars,  38  feet,  no  coxswain,  Christopher  Thomas 
of  New  York  builder,  owned  by  the  Scientific  club  of 
that  name,  and  winning  the  second  prize  at  the  New 
London  regatta  where  the  8-oared  Olympia  won  the 
first;  the  Volante,  smooth-built,  4-oarecl,  30  foot  shell, 
without  rudder,  built  that  year  by  Dalton  at  St.  Johns, 
N.  B.,  for  a  Boston  club,  and  bought  of  them  by  a  few 
members  of  '59,  to  put  into  the  July  regattas  at  Spring 
field  and  Hartford  ;  finally,  the  clincher-built  shell,  Yale, 
—  6  oars,  45  feet  and  7  inches,  no  coxswain,  from  the 
workshop  of  James  of  Brooklyn, — which  was  the  first 
race-boat  ever  purchased  for  a  University  Crew  at  Yale. 
It  was  afterwards  called  the  Atalanta.  The  Naiad  of  '62 
and  the  Eolus  of  the  Law  department,  were  4-oared 
boats,  which  engaged  in  the  regatta  of  1859,  and  were 
perhaps  among  the  "8  beautiful  shells  and  3  barges, 
purchased  in  the  three  years,  i859--'6i,"  when  the  nam 
ing  of  individual  boats  was  rapidly  going  out  of  fashion. 
More  probably,  they  were  old  boats  revamped  for  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  335 

occasion  ;  though,  supposing  them  not  to  have  been  enu 
merated  before,  they  make  the  list  here  given  coincide 
with  a  statement  printed  in  March,  1862,  that  up  to  that 
time  40  different  boats  had  been  owned  by  the  students 
of  Yale.  "  Of  these,  22  are  not  in  the  Navy  now. 
The  1 8  which  remain  are  divided  into  10  shell  boats,  5 
common  race-boats,  and  3  barges."  The  greater  part 
of  these  18  undoubtedly  carried  6  oars,  and  were  rowed 
without  coxswains ;  and  such  is  to  be  accepted  as  the 
character  of  the  boats  hereafter  mentioned,  unless  the 
contrary  is  specified. 

Meanwhile  a  change  in  the  system  had  been  ef 
fected.  Acting  under  the  direction  of  Commodore 
Page,  whose  views  upon  the  subject  were  published 
in  the  Lit.  of  March,  1859,  the  class  clubs  adopted 
the  "  English  university  plan,"  and  became  absorbed 
in  general  college  clubs,  made  up  of  all  the  classes. 
As  the  change  was  to  be  made  without  break 
ing  up  existing  clubs,  it  of  course  took  time  to 
effect  it.  Early  in  1860,  three  new  clubs,  "Glyuna," 
"Varuna"  and  "Nixie,"  were  organized  among  the 
Freshmen  ('63) ;  the  first  on  the  25th  of  January,  and 
the  others  within  the  few  months  following.  Next  year 
the  boating  men  of  '64  were  elected  into  them  ;  the 
year  after,  those  of '65  ;  and  with  the  election  of  the  '66 
Freshmen,  in  the  fall  of  1862,  each  of  the  three  clubs 
became  general  college  affairs,  possessing  representatives 
from  every  class.  Edward  F.  Blake  of  '58  drew  up  the 
constitution  for  these  "  permanent  boat  clubs,"  and  was 
one  of  the  most  active  advocates  of  the  new  system. 
The  class-club  boats  of '60,  '61  and  '62  were  bought  up 
by  the  new  organization  as  their  owners  graduated, — the 
Nautilus  and  Thulia  boats  of  the  latter  class  being  of 
course  the  last  to  be  absorbed.  Henceforth  the  indi 
vidual  boats  were  nameless,  being  spoken  of  in  connec- 


336  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tion  with  the  clubs  which  owned  them  ;  thus,  one  would  be 
called  the  Glyuna  gig,  another  the  Varuna  shell,  a  third 
the  Nixie  barge,  and  so  on  for  all  the  various  boats 
owned  by  each  club.  The  Nixie  died  out  in  the  summer 
of  1864,  and  thenceforth  till  the  end,  four  years  later, 
all  boating  undergraduates  were  either  fierce  Glyuna 
men  or  resistless  partisans  of  the  great  Varuna.  Mean 
while,  in  March,  1862,  the  Scientifics  had  established 
among  themselves  a  corresponding  club  called  the 
Undine,  which  still  flourishes.  Fifteen  boats  were 
possessed  by  the  Navy  in  the  fall  of  1863,  when  the  new 
system  got  first  well  under  weigh,  and  330  men  nominally 
belonged  to  it.  Varuna  had  153  of  them,  and  these  5 
boats:  (i)  Shell,  Spanish  cedar,  43  feet,  built  by  James 
McKay  of  New  Yoik  in  August,  1863  ;  (2)  similar  shell, 
40  feet,  built  by  same  men  in  May,  1861  ;  (3)  shell, 
lap-streaked,  46  feet,  with  coxswain,  built  by  James  in 
May,  1858  ;  (4)  gig,  lap-streaked,  45  feet,  same  maker, 
same  age  (the  Varuna  boat  of  '60) ;  (5)  barge,  33  feet, 
built  by  Darling,  same  time  as  last  two.  Glyuna,  with 
1 08  members,  also  had  5  boats  :  (i)  Shell,  cedar,  smooth, 
46  feet,  built  by  George  W.  Shaw  of  Newburgh  in  June, 
1862;  (2)  shell,  cedar,  lap-streaked,  45  feet,  built  by 
McKay,  in  May,  1860;  (3)  gig,  lap-streaked,  42  feet, 
built  at  St.  John's,  N.  B.,  at  same  time  as  last ;  (4) 
barge,  38  feet,  built  by  Fish  of  New  York,  in  Mav} 
1861  ;  (5)  barge,  35  feet,  built  by  Brooks  &  Thatcher,' 
in  1858  (the  old  Neried).  Nixie,  with  26  men,  had  3 
boats:  (i)  Shell,  Spanish  cedar,  built  by  Shaw  of  New- 
burgh,  May,  1862  ;  (2)  barge,  38  feet,  built  by  James, 
1860;  (3)  gig,  lap-streaked,  46  feet,  built  by  Shaw. 
Undine  had  23  men  and  2  boats:  (i)  Shell,  Spanish 
cedar,  smooth,  36  feet,  weight  120  pounds,  built  by 
James  in  June,  1862  ;  (2)  barge,  lap-streaked,  four  oars, 
35  feet,  weight  250  pounds,  built  by  James  in  1859. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  337 

As  already  hinted,  the  "  English- university  plan,"  five 
years  after  its  inauguration,  was  finally  abandoned, 
and,  in  popular  phrase,  "  a  return  made  to  the  old 
class  system."  This  is  so  far  from  being  true,  however, 
that  the  arrangements  for  the  management  of  boating 
affairs  which  were  accepted  at  the  meeting  of  February 
8,  1868,  and  which,  with  certain  modifications,  have  since 
been  in  vogue,  resemble  the  original  system  hardly  more 
than  the  "  English  plan  "  which  they  superseded.  They 
form,  in  truth,  a  third  distinct  method.  The  two  super 
fluous  "  Fleet  Captains  "  were  done  away  with,  and  the 
only  general  officers  were  a  Commodore  and  a  Purser, 
both  from  the  senior  class,  who  joined  with  the  captains 
of  the  various  clubs  to  form  a  general  prudential  com 
mittee.  One  club  is  allowed  to  each  academic  class  and 
one  to  the  entire  body  of  Scientifics,  making  five  in  all. 
Each  club  determines  the  character  of  its  own  organi 
zation, — and  of  course  elects  its  own  officers,  which, 
besides  the  captain,  usually  consist  of  a  purser,  one, 
two  or  three  lieutenants,  and  perhaps  an  executive  com 
mittee, — but  the  plan  which  was  expected,  and  which, 
so  far,  has  been  universally  adopted,  is  to  consider  the 
entire  class  as  belonging  to  the  club  which  represents  it. 
The  class  elects  the  officers  of  its  club,  and  these  decide 
upon  who  shall  be  allowed  to  make  up  the  crews.  The 
active  boating  men  of  course  bear  the  chief  part  of  the 
pecuniary  burden,  but  the  rest  of  their  classmates  per 
haps  subscribe  and  contribute  the  more  readily  for  their 
support,  on  account  of  being  themselves  nominally 
"members  of  the  class  club."  Nearly  half  the  men 
whose  names  were  printed  in  the  list  of  Glyuna  and 
Varuna  never  had  any  real  connection  with  those  clubs. 
The  ready  money  to  pay  the  latter's  current  expenses 
was  nearly  or  quite  all  derived  from  the  $10  initiation  fees 
extracted  from  as  many  as  possible  of  the  Freshmen 

16 


338  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

who  were  persuaded  to  join  them.  Under  the  present 
system,  there  are  no  initiation  fees,  and  each  club  or 
class  can  spend  as  much  or  as  little  as  it  chooses  of 
its  own  money,  with  a  surety  of  receiving  what  it  pays  for. 
In  June,  1870,  a  new  constitution  was  adopted  which 
changed  the  name  "Yale  Navy"  to  "Yale  Univer- 
sityBoat  Club,"  abolished  the  office  of  Commodore, 
and  divided  its  former  multifarious  duties  between 
two  individuals :  one,  the  president  of  the  club, 
to  be  chosen  by  it  in  June  from  the  new  senior  class  ; 
the  other,  the  captain  of  the  University  crew,  to  be 
chosen  by  the  members  thereof  at  the  close  of  the  Uni 
versity  race  with  Harvard.  The  secretary  and  treasurer 
is  to  be  a  member  of  the  junior  class,  and  is  chosen  by 
the  club  at  the  same  time  as  the  president.  These 
officials  continue  in  service  for  a  year  from  the  time 
chosen,  except  that  the  new  president  does  not  really 
commence  his  duties  until  the  opening  of  the  new 
academic  year,  —  the  old  one  continuing  in  authority 
until  trie-close  of  the  University  race.  The  president  is 
not  expected  to  be  a  member  of  the  crew,  but  only  to 
have  a  good  practical  knowledge  of  boating  matters, 
and  to  be  possessed  of  financial  shrewdness  and  execu 
tive  ability.  The  captain  of  the  crew  is  to  have  sole 
and  supreme  power  in  drilling  and  managing  it,  and  in 
selecting  the  men  and  deciding  their  positions  in  the 
boat.  The  president,  treasurer,  and  captain,  in  connec 
tion  with  the  captains  of  the  class  clubs,  also  form  an 
executive  committee,  to  whom  the  club  entrust  the  power 
of  deciding  all  but  the  most  important  questions.  At 
the  time  the  change  was  made,  things  had  got  to  such  a 
pass  that  the  Commodore  was  expected  to  be  the  best 
oarsman  in  the  senior  class,  and  the  stroke-oar  and 
manager  of  the  university  crew,  as  well  as  the  presiding 
officer  at  all  boating  meetings,  and  the  financial  agent 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  339 

and  general  executive  director  of  all  the  Navy's  affairs, 
— in  short,  to  do  twice  as  much  as  any  one  man  could 
possibly  do  well.  In  the  old  times,  too,  the  Commodore 
was  always  a  captain  of  one  of  the  senior  boat  clubs, 
and,  later,  of  one  of  the  general  clubs,  Glyuna  or  Va- 
runa.  At  the  beginning  of  the  term  after  his  graduation, 
he  was  wont  to  come  to  New  Haven,  preside  over  the 
election  of  his  successor,  and  make  a  financial  report 
for  the  year.  By  the  new  system  this  difficulty  is  avoided, 
and  no  hiatus  intervenes  between  the  two  successive 
administrations.  The  present  constitution,  however, 
is  simply  a  tradition,  attested  copies  never  having  been 
sent  in  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  New  Haven  town 
clerk,  and  the  manuscript  having  been  lost  shortly  after 
its  adoption.  As  the  word  "  Navy  "  has  continued  to  be 
used  more  frequently  than  "  Boat  Club,"  it  may  perhaps 
be  returned  to  again  when  another  draft  of  the  constitu 
tion  is  formally  adopted.  At  the  time  of  reorganiza 
tion  in  1868,  or,  rather,  after  the  senior  class  had 
departed,  16  boats  were  found  to  be  on  hand,  and 
they  were  allotted  as  follows :  6  to  the  Navy,  2  to 
'69,  6  to  '70,  and  2  to  the  Scientitics.  The  Navy 
boats  were:  (i)  Gig,  42  feet  long,  26  inches  wide, 
built  by  McKay,  in  1865  ;  (2)  shell,  Spanish  cedar,  50 
feet,  20  inches,  McKay,  July,  1865  ;  (3)  shell,  Spanish 
cedar,  48  feet,  23  inches,  Laeton,  July,  1867  ;  (4)  shell,, 
49  feet,  22  inches,  McKay,  July,  1867  ;  (s)  shell,  Span 
ish  cedar,  51  feet,  2o>»  inches,  Elliott,  June,  1867  ;  (6) 
shell,  Spanish  cedar,  53  feet,  20)0  inches,  Elliott,  July, 
1868.  The  two  '69  boats  were  :  (7)  Shell,  Spanish  cedar, 
48  feet,  22  inches,  McKay,  1865  j  W  g'g>  lapstreaked, 
41  feet,  26  inches,  same  builder,  1864.  The  '70  boats: 
(9)  Shell,  Spanish  cedar,  49  feet,  22  inches,  same  builder, 
July,  1867  (in  which  the  freshman  race  against  Har 
vard  was  won,  July  19,  1867);  (10)  shell,  Spanish 


34°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

cedar,  42  feet,  26  inches,  same  builder,  1864  (in  which 
the  sophomore  race  against  Harvard  was  lost,  July  29, 
1864);  (u)  shell,  Spanish  cedar,  40  feet,  30  inches, 
same  builder,  May,  1861  ;  (12)  gig,  lap-streaked,  45 
feet,  30  inches,  Darling,  May,  1868  ;  (13)  barge  "  Lore 
lei,"  45  feet,  44)0  inches  ;  (14)  barge  "  Avon,"  40  feet, 
43  inches,  built  at  St.  John's  in  1861.  Finally,  the  two 
Scientific  boats  :  (15)  gig,  lap-streaked,  carries  coxswain, 
45  feet,  30  inches,  Darling,  1868;  (16)  shell,  Spanish 
cedar,  49  feet,  21  inches,  McKay,  July,  1866.  Of  these 
boats,  Nos.  6,  7,  8,  12  and  13  were,  a  year  later,  the 
only  ones  left  in  the  boat  house  ;  and  but  two  of  them 
remain  there  now:  No.  12,  which  belongs  to  '72,  and 
No.  13,  which  belongs  to  the  Scientifics.  No.  6  was 
sold  to  the  Russellites,  No.  7  to  a  New  York  club, 
and  No.  8  to  Princeton.  The  other  boats  now  in  the 
Navy  are  :  (i)  the  '72  shell,  51  ft.,  19  in.,  Elliott,  1869, 
in  which  the  freshman  race  against  Harvard  was  lost ; 
(2)  the  '73  shell,  51  ft,  19  in.,  Fearon,  1870,  in  which 
the  freshman  race  against  Harvard  was  won  ;  (3)  the  '74 
shell,  same  dimensions  and  builder,  1871  ;  (4)  the  Uni 
versity  shell,  48  ft.,  22  in.,  Elliott,  1870,  in  which  the 
seventh  race  against  Harvard  was  rowed  ;  (5)  the  Scien 
tific  shell,  50  ft,  20  in.,  Elliott,  1870,  in  which  the 
Saltonstall  victory  over  Harvard  was  won  ;  (6)  the  '73 
barge,  shell  bottom,  45  ft.,  30  in.,  Fearon,  1870,111  which 
the  harbor  championship  was  won  ;  (7)  the  '74  barge, 
similar  boat,  same  maker,  later  in  same  year.  Besides 
these,  there  are  four  double-scull  wherries,  and  a  dozen 
or  more  single  sculls,  owned  by  private  individuals. 
Among  these  craft  are  included  one  of  the  pattern  known 
as  a  "working  boat,"  and  also  one  of  the  patent  paper 
boats,  both  of  which  were  first  introduced  at  Vale  this 
present  season.  In  the  spring  of  1870,  three  heavy 
barges  (45  ft.,  35  in.,  Darling,  1870)  were  bought  for 


THE  S  TUDENT  L IFE.  3  4  r 

the  University,  '71,  and  '72,  at  a  cost  of  $250  each,  and 
sold,  at  the  close  of  the  term  for  about  two-thirds  that 
amount.  One  of  them  went  to  Lafayette  College  and 
another  to  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  Including  University, 
class,  and  private  boats,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  above 
enumeration  vouches  for  the  correctness  of  the  item  that 
within  the  twelve-month  has  been  copied  in  about  every 
newspaper  in  the  country:  "The  Yale  Navy  has  27 
boats."  It  will  be  observed  that  no  successive  Univer 
sity  races  are  rowed  in  the  same  boat,  but  that  a  new 
one  is  procured  every  year,  and  a  new  one  also  for  every 
class  race  against  Harvard.  As  the  shells  cost  some 
$3oo,they  are  very  rarely  purchased  except  under  a  special 
necessity  of  this  sort,  but  the  class  clubs  buy  their  boats 
from  the  Navy,  at  second  hand  and  at  reduced  prices, 
and  when  they  graduate  they  either  give  their  boats 
back  to  the  Navy,  or  sell  them  directly  to  a  lower  class, 
or  to  outside  parties, — giving  to  the  Navy  any  surplus 
funds  which  may  remain  after  the  payment  of  their  club 
debts  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale.  Though  these 
fragile  modern  affairs  are  not  so  long-lived  as  their  less 
expensive  but  bulkier  predecessors,  they  yet  do  consider 
able  service  and  change  hands  several  times  before 
being  finally  abandoned.  Their  average  stay  in  the 
boat  house  is  perhaps  four  or  five  years,  though  the 
barges  recently  introduced  will  be  likely  to  last  much 
longer.  At  the  close  of  the  University  race  0*1869  one 
of  the  defeated  oarsmen  deliberately  thrust  his  oar 
through  the  side  of  the  unfortunate  Yale  shell,  thereby 
reducing  its  value  from  $350  to  $50,  for  which  latter 
amount  it  was  then  and  there  sold.  But  the  Navy  never 
so  much  as  passed  a  reprimand  concerning  this  costly 
exhibition  of  petulance. 

So  much  for  the  boats :  now,  as  to  the  keeping  of 
them.     Up  to  1859  they  had  been  mostly  moored  at 


34 2  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

Kiker's,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  boat-house,  and  all 
the  equipments,  oars,  hooks,  cushions,  etc.,  stored  indis 
criminately  in  one  of  that  gentleman's  lofts.  The  first 
club  which  arrived  at  any  given  time  usually  took  their 
pick  from  the  mass,  and  after  being  punted  out  in  an 
oyster  boat  to  where  their  craft  lay,  if  in  the  water,  or 
wading  out  to  it,  if  in  the  mud,  were  finally  "off." 
Brooks  &:  Thatcher's  float  was  in  like  manner,  though 
to  a  lesser  extent,  resorted  to,  especially  in  the  earliest 
days  of  the  pastime.  So  long  as  the  boats  were  of  what 
would  now  be  called  the  "  tub "  order  of  architecture, 
made  seaworthy  enough  for  all  weathers  and  large 
enough  to  carry  twice  the  number  of  persons  expected 
to  row  them,  this  open-air  anchorage,  though  sufficiently 
annoying,  was  still  endurable  :  but  when,  about  1858-9, 
suggestions  of  the  modern  style  of  shells  began  to  come 
into  vogue,  the  necessity  of  shelter  for  them  became 
absolute,  and  the  long-put-off  duty  of  providing  some 
sort  of  a  boat-house  for  the  Navy,  could  be  shirked  no 
longer.  Accordingly,  on  certain  agreed  conditions,  a 
man  was  got  to  build  a  house,  at  the  foot  of  Grand 
street,  "on  the  head  waters  of  the  slimy,  sluggish,  and 
sinuous  canal  we  once  dignified  by  the  name  of  riw." 
and  in  it  the  boats  were  stored  in  the  spring  of  1859. 
Though  this  house  was  an  improvement  on  nothing  at 
all,  it  was  exceedingly  inconvenient,  as  may  be  judged 
over  the  following  words  of  rejoicing,  uttered  as  the  time 
of  release  from  it  drew  nigh:  "No  more  crawling 
through  a  hole  in  the  fence  when  the  gate  is  shut.  No 
more  carrying  heavy  barges  about  half  a  mile  over  the 
mud,  and  then  finding  them  sticking  into  the  opposite 
bank.  No  more  losing  of  rowlocks,  missing  of  oars, 
stealing  of  loose  articles,  or  general  displacement  of  boats 
by  the  tide.  Yes,  there  will  be  no  more  little  boys  on 
the  bridge  to  throw  stones  and  encourage  profanity,  or 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  343 

oozy  cables  hanging  across  the  channel  just  high  enough 
to  hit  a  man  in  the  eye  when  he  turns  round.  No  more 
scratching  gravel  on  the  port  side,  and  trailing  on  the 
starboard,  in  order  to  pass  some  miserable  Philadelphia 
schooner  loaded  with  cpal.  No  more  dirt  in  the  boats, 
or  cracking  of  sinews  to  shoot  the  bridge  on  coming 
back,  or  wild  oystermen  to  fasten  their  sharpies  in  front 
of  the  boat-house,  and  to  expostulate  quietly  but  firmly 
when  said  sharpies  by  accident  get  cut  adrift." 

"  For  four  years  and  a  half  we  got  along,  as  best  we 
could,  with  a  mere  shelter  for  our  boats.  Open  doors 
invited  thieves  to  carry  off  oars,  swivels,  cushions,  every 
thing  ;  while  the  uneven  floor  scratched  and  strained  the 
boats  themselves.  At  low  tide,  we  dragged  them  over 
gravel-stones  and  oyster-shells  ;  at  high  tide,  we  waded 
in  the  water  which  nearly  floated  them  in  their  places. 
Moreover  the  rent  was  enormous.  Such  a  state  of 
things  was  naturally  and  considerably  murmured  at,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1862,  initiatiory  steps  were  taken  toward  a 
reformation."  A  committee  from  the  Navy  obtained 
plans  and  estimates,  and  scoured  the  college  for  the 
necessary  funds.  A  thousand  dollars  was  subscribed  by 
the  undergraduates,  and  $150  obtained  in  response  to 
circulars  sent  the  alumni.  A  subscription  was  also 
proposed  and  attempted  among  the  townspeople,  but 
shortly  given  up  in  despair.  Only  a  third  enough 
money  had  been  raised,  and  unless  the  needecl  amount 
could  be  advanced,  the  enterprise  must  be  abandoned. 
At  this  point,  it  was  found  that  the  Townsend  City  Sav 
ings  Bank  would  lend  the  money,  if  offered  three  respon 
sible  names  as  collateral  security  ;  and  with  short  delay 
Professors  Silliman  and  Oilman  and  Treasurer  Kingsley 
were  induced  to  take  the  responsibility.  The  contract 
was  signed  July  15,  with  William  P.  Dickerman,  who 
was  to  supply  "  a  building  90  by  55  feet,  with  12  feet  be- 


344  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

tween  the  joints,  to  rest  upon  piles,  driven  in  the  flats, 
just  north  of  the  steamboat  storehouse," — which  place 
had  been  secured  by  a  five  years'  lease.  The  original  plans 
made  the  building  eight  feet  longer,  with  four  club-rooms, 
and  a  large  storeroom  overhead,  ^ut  while  the  committee 
hesitated  about  accepting  them,  the  price  of  lumber  had 
nearly  doubled,  and  they  were  thus  forced  to  econo 
mize. 

The  entire  cost  of  the  boat-house  was  about  $3400, 
and  though  not  quite  finished  on  the  opening  of  the  fall 
term,  "the  triumphal  ceremonies  of  entrance  came  off 
on  Wednesday,  September  30,  1863,  and  were  of  an 
appropriate  character.  The  weather  was  most  propitious, 
and  everything  seemed  to  conspire  to  make  it  a  gala- 
day  in  very  truth.  The  aquatic  exercises  of  the  celebra 
tion  consisted  of  a  Shell  and  a  Barge  race,  and  a  grand 
parade  of  the  boats  of  the  Navy  around  the  buoy. 
Every  boat  belonging  to  these  clubs  was  on  the  water, 
and  every  one  of  the  crews  which  manned  them  appeared 
to  enjoy  themselves  hugely.  The  boat-house  itself  pre 
sented  a  lively  scene  of  uproarious  jollification.  It  wit 
nessed,  introspectively,  a  deal  of  delightful  confusion, 
and  it  echoed  from  rafter  to  rafter  a  full  orchestra  of 
noise."  The  internal  arrangements  were  described  as 
"  tramways,  upon  which  run  trucks,  bearing  '  falls'  for 
raising  and  lowering  the  boats,  through  the  trap  doors  in 
the  floor.  For  each  shell  we  have  two  large  iron  hooks 
or  cradles,  connected  by  a  long  timber,  in  and  upon 
which  the  boats  rests  while  in  the  house  and  while  being 
lowered  to  and  hoisted  from  the  water.  The  barges  are 
lifted  by  simple  iron  cradles  which  are  then  removed, 
and  the  boats  allowed  to  rest  on  even  keel  on  the  floor." 
This  plan  was  soon  found  to  be  too  cumbersome, — the 
water  beneath  the  house  being  hardly  deep  enough  to 
float  the  boats  at  low  tide,  and  the  rigging  getting  con- 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  345 

stantly  out  of  order, — and  so  the  trap  doors  were  fast 
ened  down,  and  the  floating  platform,  now  in  use,  pro 
cured.  This  rises  and  falls  with  the  tide,  and  the  short 
gangway  leading  from  it  to  the  boat-house  is  readily 
ascended  by  a  crew  carrying  their  boat,  even  at  the 
lowest  tide.  All  the  boats  are  now  launched  from  this 
float,  and  carried  by  hand  to  and  from  the  house.  The 
size  of  the  platform  is  perhaps  20  by  35  feet.  Other  minor 
improvements  have  been  from  time  to  time  made  on  the 
boat-house,  though  it  has  never  yet  been  painted.  A 
platform  guarded  by  a  railing  projects  from  the  east  side 
of  it,  a  flag  pole — usually  destitute  of  a  flag — adorns 
one  of  its  gable  ends,  new  windows  and  doors  have  been 
cut,  and  within,  dressing  closets  have  been  constructed, 
above  and  below,  racks  and  frames  erected,  and  so  on. 
The  ice  annually  makes  bad  work  with  the  boat-house, 
and  new  piles  have  to  be  driven  each  year,  at  consider 
able  expense,  to  prevent  the  building  from  being  swept 
away.  That  there  is  less  thievery  now  than  formerly  is 
probably  due  quite  as  much  to  the  fact  that  depredators 
find  less  that  is  worth  stealing,  as  to  the  greater  security 
of  the  house  itself.  Though  the  pretence  is  made  of 
keeping  it  locked,  little  difficulty  is  put  in  the  way  of  one 
who  would  force  an  entrance  :  but  the  oars  are  chained, 
and  from  their  peculiar  shape,  are  of  little  use  to  a 
'longshore-man  ;  while  the  heavy  boats,  and  the  hooks 
and  cushions  and  other  toggery,  which  used  to  attract 
his  cupidity,  are  no  longer  to  be  found  there  at  all. 
None  but  trained  oarsmen  can  manage  the  modern 
shells,  and  though  a  malicious  person  might  render 
them  useless  with  incredible  ease,  so  long  as  good  feel 
ing  obtains  among  the  "  townies,"  there  is  little  danger 
of  this  happening.  Novv-a-days  it  is  the  "  wharf-rats" 
who  commit  most  of  the  malicious  mischief  about  the 
boat-house, — doing  things  of  a  kind  that  are  none  the 

16* 


346  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

less  exasperating  because  comparatively  insignificant. 
In  1864  the  horse-cars  were  first  run  to  within  a  quarter 
mile  of  the  place,,  and  since  1868  they  have  come  close 
upon  it.  The  boat-house  is  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
colleges,  and  fifteen  minutes  is  the  least  time  occupied 
in  making  the  trip  on  the  cars. 

As  soon  as  the  Navy  had  become  possessed  of  a 
boat-house,  it  was  evidently  necessary  that  it  should  ob 
tain  a  legal  incorporation  of  some  sort,  in  order  that  it 
might  have  a  clear  title  to  its  property.  Accordingly, 
at  the  1863  session  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature,  a 
law  was  passed  (General  Statutes,  §§  352,353,354,  p. 
161,  ed.  1866),  authorizing  "any  number  of  persons, 
members  of  any  collegiate  academy,  or  literary  institu- 
tution,  to  associate  for  the  purpose  of  forming  boat- 
clubs,  and  of  becoming  proficient  in  the  management  of 
boats  in  the  rivers,  harbors  and  navigable  waters  of  this 
State  ;  and  being  so  associated,  on  compliance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  to  be  a  body  politic  and  corpo 
rate,  sue  and  be  sued,  have  a  common  seal  which  they 
may  change  or  alter  at  pleasure,  purchase,  hold  or  con 
vey  real  or  personal  estate  of  a  value  not  exceeding 
$10,000,  choose  such  officers  and  make  and  adopt  such 
articles  and  by-laws  as  they  may  deem  necessary  or  con 
venient  for  conducting  and  regulating  their  affairs,  and 
do  all  acts  necessary  and  proper  for  accomplishing  the 
objects  of  said  boat  club."  The  conditions  were  that 
"  before  any  such  association  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
specified  privileges,  it  shall  lodge  with  the  Secretary  of 
this  State,  a  copy  of  its  articles  or  by-laws,  attested  by 
its  commodore,  captain  or  principal  officer,  and  also 
cause  a  like  copy  to  be  recorded  in  a  book  kept  for  that 
purpose  in  the  town  clerk's  office  in  the  town  where 
such  association  is  situated.  And  all  subsequent  alter 
ations  or  amendments  of  its  articles  or  by-laws,  shall,  in 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  347 

like  manner,  be  so  attested,  and  the  same  shall  not  take 
effect  until  so  attested,  and  left  with  the  secretary,  and 
town  clerk,  as  aforesaid." 

Having  become  thus  incorporated,  the  Navy  pro 
ceeded  to  take  out  a  lease  for  the  "  land,  marsh  or  mud 
flats  "  on  which  its  boat-house  was  situated.  The  owner 
thereof  was  the  "  Company  for  Erecting  and  Supplying 
a  Toll  Bridge  from  New  Haven  to  East  Haven,"  an 
organization  popularly  known  as  the  "  Tomlinson  Bridge 
Co.,"  and  practically  owned  by  the  Hartford  and  New 
Haven  Railroad  Co.,  of  which  corporation  the  president 
of  the  bridge  company — William  P.  Burrall  of  Yale  '26 
— is  also  a  prominent  officer.  The  lease  was  executed 
Nov.  3,  1863,  is  recorded  in  the  Town  Records,  v.  204, 
p.  96,  covers  the  term  of  five  years,  from  the  ist  of 
July,  1863,  and  its  conditions  are  as  follows:  "The  said 
building  shall  not  be  permitted  to  become  the  resort  of 
noisy,  riotous  or  other  improper  persons,  nor  be  used  for 
public  meetings,  nor  be  assigned  or  underlet  to  any 
other  party  for  any  other  purposes  than  those  specified, 
nor  be  used  for  any  ofher  than  the  proper  and  legiti 
mate  uses  and  purposes  of  an  amateur  boat  club,  nor 
shall  spirituous  liquors  be  sold  or  dispensed  there."  The 
rent  to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  was  $25,  at 
the  end  of  the  second  $30,  at  the  end  of  the  third  $35, 
at  the  end  of  the  fourth,  $40,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
fifth  $45.  "  And  upon  failure  of  said  lessee  to  pay  said 
rent  for  the  space  of  30  days  after  any  payment  of  rent 
shall  become  due  and  payable,  or  upon  violation  of  any 
other  of  the  conditions  of  this  lease,  after  reasonable 
complaint  and  notice  by  the  lessor,  said  lessor  may 
reenter  and  repossess  itself  of  the  premises,  and  the 
rent  aforesaid  shall  at  all  times  be  a  lien  upon  the  build 
ing  until  paid.  The  said  company  granting  the  lease 
doth  reserve  the  right,  if  it  shall  be  found  that  the 


348  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ground  occupied  by  said  building  shall  at  any  time  dur 
ing  said  term  be  needed  for  its  purposes,  or  for  the  use 
of  the  H.  &  N.  H.  R.  R.  Co.,  to  terminate  this  lease 
upon  notice  to  that  effect,  six  months  in  advance  of  the 
time  of  such  termination,  at  the  end  of  or  during  which 
said  period  of  six  months,  said  lessee  may  remove  said 
building,  and  the  lessor  in  such  case  shall  pay  the  lessee 
the  sum  of  $500.  At  the  expiration  of  said  term  of 
five  years  the  lessee  may  remove  said  buildings,  but  if 
said  lessee  .  shall  then  desire  the  renewal  of  said  lease 
for  a  further  term  of  five  years,  and  said  ground  is  not 
then  needed  for  other  purposes  by  said  bridge  company 
or  railroad  company,  the  said  lease  shall  be  renewed 
for  a  further  term,  on  conditions  like  the  aforesaid,  but 
on  payment  of  such  additional  rent  as  shall  be  deter 
mined  by  two  disinterested  referees,  if  the  parties  fail 
to  agree."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  no  money  for 
rent  has  ever  been  really  paid  or  demanded,  either 
under  the  terms  of  the  lease,  or  since  their  expiration, — 
July  i,  1868, — and  it  is  hoped  and  expected  that  none 
ever  will  be.  It  was  indeed  tacitly  understood  at  the 
outset  that,  if  the  college  oarsmen  behaved  themselves 
in  their  quarters,  the  bridge  company  would  give  them 
no  trouble;  and  as  it  has  never  yet  had  occasion  for 
complaint  on  the  score  of  drunkenness  and  disorder,  it 
has  as  expected  been  indulgent  and  exacted  no  rent 
from  the  poverty  stricken,  college  "  institution." 

As  already  stated,  the  Townsend  Savings  Bank  loaned 
the  Navy  the  sum  of  $2000,  on  the  endorsement  of 
Professors  Silliman  and  Gilman  and  Treasurer  Kings- 
ley,  and  to  them  the  Navy  mortgaged  its  boat-house, 
boats,  lease,  and  entire  property,  as  security  for  the  pay 
ment  thereof.  The  mortgage  was  executed  Nov.  4, 
1863,  and  is  recorded  in  the  Town  Records,  v.  204,  p. 
98.  On  the  same  dny,  William  P.  Dickerman  executed 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  349 

a  quit-claim  deed  to  the  boat-house  property,  acknowl 
edging  payment  in  full  for  his  services  as  builder,  which 
deed  is  recorded  in  v.  203,  p.  136.  When,  however,  the 
bank  called  for  its  money,  the  Navy  was  unable  to  pro 
duce  it,  and  so  it  was  advanced  by  the  endorsers,  to 
whom  the  Navy  has  ever  since  been  in  debt.  The  inter 
est  has  been  paid  with  tolerable  regularity,  but  it  was 
not  until  1866  that  -an  instalment  ($400)  of  the  princi 
pal  was  paid,  and  the  second  instalment  which  followed 
it  in  1869  was  but  $100.  In  the  winter  gf  1870,  the 
Commodore  of  that  class,  who  was  the  last  one  ever 
chosen,  started  out  on  a  tour  among  the  alumni,  with  the 
object  of  raising  $3000, — half  to  liquidate  the  debt, 
$500  to  repair  the  boat-house,  and  $1,000  to  pay  for 
current  expenses  and  serve  as  a  nucleus  for  a  permanent 
fund.  He  really  secured  about  $2100,  about  a  third  of 
which  was  expended  upon  the  boat-house,  and  a  third 
borrowed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  University  race, 
which  third  it  was  intended  to  replace  by  the  under 
graduate  subscriptions  which  considerably  exceeded 
that  sum.  But  the  treasurer  failed  to  collect  the  money 
as  agreed  upon,  and  after  the  race,  when  all  the  under 
graduates  had  scattered  to  their  homes,  the  Commo 
dore,  who,  under  almost  desperate  discouragements, 
had  at  the  last  moment  got  a  crew  together  and  van 
quished  the  Harvards,  and  who  had  spent  several  hun 
dred  dollars  from  his  private  pocket,  had  no  other  alter 
native  than  to  return  to  his  home  in  a  distant  State,  and 
transfer  his  unsettled  accounts  to  his  successors.  By 
these  they  were  neglected  and  misunderstood,  and  un 
pleasant  suspicions  began  to  prevail  among  the  alumni 
who  had  contributed  their  money,  but  had  failed  to  have 
it  accounted  for  as  agreed  upon ;  and  even  in  college 
there  were  rumors  of  carelessness  or  breach  of  trust  of 
some  sort.  Learning  the  state  of  affairs,  in  May  of  the 


35°  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

present  year,  the  ex-Commodore  left  his  business,  1200 
miles  away,  came  on  to  New  Haven,  collected  the  un 
paid  undergraduate  subscription,  cancelled  the  vener 
able  boat-house  debt, — thereby  of  course  raising  the 
mortgage  before  mentioned, — presented  a  report  of 
receipts  and  expenditures,  with  vouchers  for  the  same, 
which  report  and  vouchers  were  examined  and  approved 
by  a  committee  consisting  of  a  professor  in  the  college 
and  the  president  of  the  Navy,  and  having  made  public 
this  complete  vindication  of  his  labors,  withdrew,  amid 
the  cheers  and  congratulations  of  all  college,  who  had 
appreciated  from  the  outset  the  extent  of  his  services  to 
the  boating  interests,  and  rejoiced  to  see  him  set  aright 
before  the  public,  and  in  the  way  of  receiving  the  credit 
fairly  due  for  his  energetic  exertions.  Before  the  rais 
ing  of  this  $2000  by  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  '70 
Commodore,  the  only  pecuniary  aid  of  any  account  ever 
contributed  by  the  alumni  was  the  $500  given  to  the 
winning  University  crew  of  '64,  by  Thomas  Denny,  who 
graduated  ten  years  before  that  date.  Last  year,  Wil 
liam  Walter  Phelps  of  '60  pledged  $1250  in  five  annual 
instalments,  and  George  C.  S.  Southworth  of  '63  estab 
lished  the  annual  $300  prize  cup.  The  average  run 
ning  expenses  of  the  Navy  are  from  $1800  to  $2000  a 
year,  and  those  of  the  separate  clubs  if  combined  would 
probably  show  a  total  nearly  as  large.  Now  that  the 
boat-house  debt  is  paid,  it  seems  as  if  a  permanent  fund 
ought  to  be  established  in  some  way  whose  income 
might  to  a  considerable  extent  lighten  the  burden  of 
general  Navy  expenses  that  now  presses  so  hard  on 
undergraduate  shoulders.  No  treasurer's  or  secretary's 
books  or  archives  of  any  sort  are  now  in  the  Navy's 
possession,  and  if  any  exist  they  are  probably  inside  the 
hall  of  some  senior  societv. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3  5 1 

"  The  Annual  Commencement;  Regatta"  in  which  any 
boat  belonging  to  the  Navy  might  compete  for  prizes 
offered  by  the  senior  class,  was  instituted  when  the  for 
mer  was  first  organized.  The  first  "  general  review  and 
drill"  having  occurred  on  June  18,  1853, — the  Saturday 
of  Presentation  Week, — the  first  regatta  was  held  on 
the  Tuesday  before  Commencement,  July  26,  following. 
Four  of  the  six  boats  competed,  the  distance  being  2)2 
miles.  Thulia  won  the  first  prize — a  silver  cup  and 
salver,  costing  $20 — in  15  m.  32  s.  ;  Halcyon,  the  second 
— a  blue  and  white  silk  jack  and  ensign,  costing  $10 
— in  16  m. ;  Ariel  came  next,  in  16  m.  453.,  and 
Nepenthe,  fourth,  in  i8m.  15  s.  Although  the  weather 
was  bad,  a  large  company  assembled  to  witness  the 
sport.  Next  year,  four  of  the  ten  boats  in  the  Navy 
engaged  in  the  regatta  of  July  22,  rowing  over  a  3-mile 
course.  Nautilus,  won  the  black-walnut  back-board 
offered  for  40-foot  boats,  and  Atalanta  a  pair  of  black- 
walnut  sculls,  offered  for  30-foot  boats,  while  Transit 
won  a  black-walnut  boat-hook,  as  a  drill  prize  ;  whence 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  "drill  and  review"  was  this 
year  and  henceforth  combined  with  the  "  regatta."  The 
fourth  boat  entered  was  Rowena.  Of  the  "times" 
made  in  this  race  no  correct  record  has  been  kept.  In 
1855,  New  Haven  harbor  was  exchanged  for  the  Con 
necticut  river  at  Springfield,  where,  on  the  4th  of  July, 
the  third  regatta  was  held  ;  five  boats  entering,  for  a 
3-mile  race,  to  row  the  first  half  of  the  distance  down 
the  river,  and  then  return.  Nereid  took  the  first  prize 
— a  silver  goblet  and  salver,  valued  at  $50 — in  22m. 
58  s.  ;  Transit,  the  second — a  $25  telescope — in  25  m. 
27  s.  ;  and  Halcyon  (called  Atalanta),  the  third — a  $15 
set  of  colors— in  26111.  17  s.  The  two  other  boats 
were  :  Thulia,  making  27  m.  2  s.,  and  Rowena,  30  m.  42  s. 
A  violent  wind  and  consequent  rough  water  at  the  time 


3S2  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALk. 

of  the  race  explain  its  slowness.  The  prizes  were  all 
offered  by  the  citizens  of  Springfield,  who  invited  the 
clubs  there  to  help  celebrate  "the  Fourth."  The  Har 
vard  oarsmen  were  likewise  invited,  and  Yale's  disap 
pointment  at  not  meeting  them  inspired  the  sending  of 
the  challenge  which  resulted  in  a  second  regatta  there, 
a  little  more  than  a  fortnight  afterwards.  Next  year  the 
races  were  delayed  until  fall,  and  the  fourth  regatta  took 
place  October  25,  four  boats  pulling  over  a  course  of  a 
little  less  than  3  miles.  Transit  took  the  prize — a  hand 
somely-mounted  boat-lantern — in  2im.  i2S. ;  and  the 
order  of  the  other  boats  was :  Nereid,  22  m.  45  s.  ; 
Nautilus,  22  m.  55  s.  ;  and  Wa-Wa,  26m.  305.  In  this 
race  there  were  two  fouls  and  one  broken  oar ;  "  the 
day,  however,  was  fine,  and  the  spectators  were  numer 
ous."  July  27,  1857,  was  the  day  of  the  fifth  regatta. 
Only  three  boats  entered,  yet  it  was  a  "  neck  and  neck" 
race  and  a  very  exciting  one.  Nereid  won  the  prize — 
a  pair  of  silk  boat-flags — in  22  m.  515.;  Olympia  came 
next,  in  22  in.  52  s.  (reckoned  at  23  m.  145.,  on  account 
of  carrying  a  us.  handicap  on  its  two  extra  oars)  ;  and 
Wenona,  in  23  m.  16  s.  The  drill  prize — a  pair  of  brass 
mounted  boat  hooks — was  awarded  to  Thulia.  "  The 
Nereid  and  Olympia  passed  the  Commodore's  boat 
amid  the  cheers  of  thousands  (!)  assembled  to  witness 
the  race."  Next  year,  July  26,  Varuna  won  the  cham 
pion  flag,  and  a  set  of  oars,  in  22m.  33  s. ;  Nereid,  a 
set  of  silk  colors,  in  25m.  26^ s.  ;  Omicron  (a  5-oared, 
38  foot  shell  belonging  to  Olympia)  came  in  in  25  m. 
36  s.,  allowance  of  20  s.  being  made  for  handicap  ;  and 
the  Olympia  came  several  minutes  after  and  its  time  was 
not  taken.  After  the  race,  Olympia  won  the  drill  prize, 
which  was  a  pair  of  silver-mounted  boat-hooks. 

This  seems  to  have  been 'the  last   Commencement 
Regatta,  for  the  next  harbor  races  occurred  Oct.   19, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  353 

1859.     The  first,  between  clinker  built  boats  for  a  prize 
of  $15,  was  won  by  Olympia  in  22  m.,  followed  by  the 
Cymothoe  and  Nereid,  each  in  24  m.  15  s.,  both  of  which 
were  ruled  out  of  the  race  for  jockeying.     The  Atalanta 
shell,  not  being  allowed  to  compete   for  the  prize,  won 
the  championship  simply,  in  2 1  m.  45  s.     In  the  second 
race,  between  common  club-boats,  for  a  prize  of  ten  dol 
lars,  Thulia  beat  Nautilus,  going  over  the  three-mile 
course  in  23  m.  45  s.     Next  year,  Wednesday,  October 
20,  in  the  shell   race,   though  the  boats  fouled,  Thulia 
won  the  prize  ($15),  in  19  m.,  Atalanta  followed  in  19  m. 
37  s.,  while  Glyuna  at  the  time  of  the  accident  with 
drew.     In  the  barge  race,  Cymothoe  won  the  first  prize 
($10),  in  20 m.  25  s.  ;  Varuna,  the  second  ($5),  in  20  m. 
58  s. ;  Olympia  came  third,  in  21  m.  51  s.  ;    Nixie  broke 
an  oar  at  the  start,  and  Thulia  withdrew,  when  half  way 
to  the  buoy.     The  distance  was  2*  miles,  and  the  Cym- 
othoe's  the  best  barge-time  ever  made  in  the  harbor, 
though  two  of  its  crew  had  just  gone  over  the  same 
course  in  the  Atalanta  shell.      Varuna  won  the  drill 
•prize  ($5),  for  which  Olympia,  Thulia  and  Nixie  also 
contested.     The  third  year  of  the  fall  races  (1861),  wit 
nessed  what  was  called  at  the  time  "  the  ninth  Annual 
Regatta."     Appointed  for  Wednesday,  October  22,  all 
but  the  barge  race  had  to  be  deferred  until  the  Saturday 
following,  on  account  of  rough  water.     The  barges  of 
Glyuna,  Varuna  (Cymothoe),  and  Nixie,  came  in  in  the 
order  given,  but  the  first  two  were  ruled  out  on  account 
of  fouls,  and  the  prize  was  awarded  the  last,  although 
"  her  time  was  incredible."     In  the  shell  race  of  Satur 
day,  Nixie  also  won  the  prize,  in  19  m.  17  s.,  against  the 
20  m.  25  s.  of  Glyuna;  which  club  was  also  worsted  in 
the  drill  trial  with  Varuna.     The  three  prizes  were  $15, 
$10  and  $5,  respectively,   and  the  same    amounts   of 
money  were  offered  on  the  year  following.     The  distance 


354  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

rowed  over  was  2^7  miles.  Next  year,  Wednesday, 
October  29,  Varuna  beat  in  the  shell  race,  in  20  m.  25  s. ; 
Glyuna  made  21  m.,  and  Nixie  lost  an  outrigger  and 
withdrew.  In  the  barge  race,  Glyuna  made  23  m.  30  s. 
to  24  in.  25  s.  of  the  Undine,  though  a  22  s.  handicap 
was  allowed  the  latter.  For  the  third  time,  Varuna  won 
the  drill  prize.  October  31,  1863,  Glyuna  won  the  shell 
race  in  18  m.  57  s.  to  Varuna's  19  m.  10  s.  In  the  barge 
race,  Glyuna  (Avon)  also  made  20  m.  47  s.  to  the 
22m.  55.  of  Varuna  (Cymothoe),  and  the  23111.  of 
Undine — 30  s.  handicap  being  allowed  the  latter.  The 
drill  prize  again  fell  to  Varuna.  In  1864,  the  "twelfth 
annual  regatta,"  of  October  19,  dwindled  down  to  a 
simple  shell  race  for  the  championship,  between  Varuna 
and  Glyuna,  which  the  former  won,  in  20111.  508.,  while 
the  latter  filled  with  water  and  sunk.  A  sail-boat  res 
cued  the  unlucky  crew,  but  stove  in  their  shell  in  doing 
it.  In  1865,  October  u,  Varuna  beat  in  both  races  ;  in 
the  shell  race  making  18  m.  25  s.  to  Glyuna's  19  m.  30  s., 
and  in  the  gig  race  making  19  m.  55  s.  to  the  other's 
20  m.  43  s.  In  1866,  nine  crews  trained  for  the  race, — 
each  club  entering  a  shell,  gig,  and  barge, — but  all  did 
not  participate  therein.  Tuesday,  October  16,  after  sev 
eral  delays,  the  gig  and  barge  races  took  place :  Varuna 
winning  the  one  in  19111.  13  s.,  Undine  the  other  in  21  m. 
15  s.  The  shell  races  came  off  on  the  following  Satur 
day,  and  were  the  most  closely  contested  on  record  : 
Glyuna  winning  in  the  unprecedented  time  of  17  m.  33  s., 
and  Varuna  being  only  two  seconds  behind.  The  dis 
tance  was  2/4  miles.  In  1867,  October  16,  occurred  the 
last  contest  under  the  old  club  system  :  The  Glyuna  gig 
beating — in  18  m.  155. — that  of  Varuna,  whose  time 
was  19  m.  175.  The  shell  race  was  abandoned,  on 
account  of  Varuna's  shell  being  in  poor  condition,  so 
both  the  champion  flags  passed  to  Glyuna.  As  there 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  355 

were  no  "fall  races"  in  1868,  this  fifteenth,  may,  for  the 
sake  of  convenience,  be  regarded  as  the  last  in  the 
series  of  distinctively  annual  regattas,  instituted,  simul 
taneously  with  the  Navy  itself,  in  1853.  Since  the  time, 
ten  years  later,  when  "  the  members  of  the  senior  class" 
ceased  to  offer  prizes,  and  the  "  fall  races"  were  for  the 
championship  simply,  the  distinction  between  them  and 
the  similar  "  spring  races"  has  been  only  nominal.  But 
the  latter,  though  in  theory  of  equal  importance,  are  not 
often  as  largely  engaged  in  nor  as  closely  contested  as 
the  former. 

And  now  to  trace  the  history  of  the  "  champion  flag," 
and  of  the  other  races  which  were  rowed  for  it.  It  was 
in  May,  1858,  that  the  Commodore  then  serving  received 
from  William  J.  Weeks  of  '44,  captain  of  the  first  Yale 
boat  crew,  the  flag,  "  Pioneer,  Yale,  No.  i,"  to  be  offered 
as  an  emblem  of  championship,  according  to  the  rule 
already  quoted,  in  the  Navy  constitution  of  1855.  Pre~ 
vious  to  this,  the  winning  boats  in  the  annual  regattas,  and 
the  times  made,  had  been:  1853,  July  26,  Thulia 
(juniors  of '54),  15:32  (distance,  two  and  a  half  miles) ; 
1854,  July  22,  Nautilus  (Freshmen  of  57),  time  not  re 
corded  ;  1855,  July  4,  Nereid  (Freshmen  of  '58),  22:58  ; 
1856,  October  25,  Transit  (Scientifics),  21:12;  1857, 
July  27,  Nereid  (Juniors  of  '58),  22:51.  The  flag  was 
therefore  first  actually  awarded  July  26,  1858,  to 
Varuna  (Sophomores  of  '60),  for  its  22:33.  1°  response 
to  a  challenge  from  Olympia  (Scientifics),  a  race  came 
off  June  8,  1859,  which  was  won  by  Varuna,  (Juniors 
of  '60),  in  22:6,  to  Olympia's  22:30,  without  claiming 
from  the  latter  the  225.  handicap  allowed  by  the  rules 
of  the  Navy.  Cymothoe  (Sophomores  of '61)  also  en 
tered  this  race,  and  was  "  in  sight "  at  its  close.  In  a 
second  race,  July  5,  Varuna  retained  the  flag,  making 
the  three  miles  in  22:26,  to  Olyrnpia's  23:30.  Atalanta 


356  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

(Sophomores  of '61),  entered  the  race,  but  withdrew  with  a 
broken  oar.  At  the  regular  regatta  of  1859,  October  19, 
Atalanta  (Juniors  of '61),  won  the  flag  in  21:45,  against 
Olympia's  22  m., — Varuna  not  entering,  because,  having 
held  the  flag  for  more  than  a  year  and  having  four  of 
the  University  crew  on  its  six,  it  preferred  to  give  the 
younger  crews  a  chance  of  the  championship.  In 
response  to  a  challenge,  Atalanta  set  May  26,  1860,  as 
the  time  for  a  trial.  Three  other  boats  entered  :  Nereid 
(Juniors  of  '61),  Thulia  (Sophomores  of  '62),  and  Vo- 
lante  (Scientifics).  The  second  made  the  2-j\7  miles  in 
20:15,  the  first  in  20:45,  and  the  third  in  22:45.  The 
Atalanta  did  not  start  at  all,  failing  to  hear  the  word, 
and  so  retained  the  flag,  and  appointed  the  following 
Wednesday  for  a  new  trial.  At  that  time,  Volante 
having  withdrawn,  the  three  boats  took  their  positions 
again,  and  were  started  with  a  pistol  shot.  Thulia  won 
the  flag  in  19:15,  followed  by  Nereid,  in  19:35,  and 
Atalanta,  in  20 m.  Next  October,  Thulia  kept  the  flag 
away  from  Atalanta  again,  the  time  being  19  m.  A 
year  later,  Nixie  won  the  flag  in  19:17.  May  31,  1862, 
Varuna  again  gained  it,  in  20:5  [or,  regularly,  21:45], 
and  retained  it  next  October,  in  20:25  ;  but  surrendered 
it  on  the  6th  of  June  following  to  Glyuna, — 19:4  and 
19:55  being  the  times  made  by  the  two  boats, — Xixie 
failing  to  go  around  the  buoy.  Next  fall,  Glyuna  re 
tained  the  flag,  in  18:57.  A  }'ear  ^ater  (J864),  Varuna 
won  it  back,  in  20:50,  and  retained  it  next  year  (Oct. 
u),  in  18:25.  In  the  race  of  June  6,  1866,  Glyuna  re 
took  it,  in  18:4,  against  18:32.  In  the  gig  race  of  the 
same  date,  Undine  won,  in  19:07,  Varuna  came  next,  in 
19:32,  and  Glyuna  was  withdrawn.  Next  October, 
Glyuna  held  on  to  the  flag,  in  17:33,  but  lost  it  again  at 
the  race  of  May  22,  1867  ;  Varuna  making  18:07  to 
(ilyuna's  18:31  and  Undine's  18:38.  In  the  gig  races  of 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  357 

the  same  day,  Glyuna  was  ruled  out,  and  Varuna  beat, 
in  20:17  to  Undine's  20:20.  Next  October,  Glyuna  re 
took  the  flag,  in  18:15.  The  first  race  under  the  new 
system  took  place  Tuesday,  July  30,  1868, — the  after 
noon  before  Presentation  Day,- — and  was  won  by  the 
'Sixty-Nine  shell  in  18:28,  that  of  'Sixty-Eight  being 
swamped  by  the  rough  water.  In  the  gig-race,  'Sixty- 
Nine  also  beat,  in  17:52;  followed  by 'Sixty-Eight  in, 
in  18:40,  and  by  'Seventy,  in  18:50.  A  large  and  enthu 
siastic  number  of  spectators  were  in  attendance,  and 
prizes  of  crossed  golden  oars,  to  be  worn  as  badges, 
were  awarded  the  winning  crews.  As  already  stated, 
no  attempt  was  made  to  institute  a  race  on  the  following 
October,  and  the  one  projected  for  the  Saturday  preced 
ing  the  next  Presentation  Day  dwindled  away  to 
nothing. 

The  second  trial  under  the  new  system,  therefore, 
came  off  as  late  as  Wednesday,  October  27,  1869. 
Under  the  old  enumeration,  it  would  be  called  "the 
sixteenth  annual  regatta"  of  the  Navy,  and  it  was 
probably  the  most  successful  one  of  them  all.  New 
Haven  harbor  was  abandoned  in  favor  of  Lake  Salton- 
stall,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  four  miles  from  the 
city,  on  the  line  of  the  railway,  and  thither  an  extra 
train  of  fourteen  heavily  loaded  cars  and  innumerable 
private  conveyances  carried  a  larger  crowd  of  spectators 
than  ever  went  to  witness  a  Yale  race  before.  A  brass 
band  was  also  in  attendance  to  enliven  the  interludes  of 
waiting.  Thirteen  boats  took  part  in  five  different  races. 
In  the  shell  race,  the  champion  flag  was  won  by 
'Seventy,  in  22:37 ;  'Seventy-One  following,  in  23:3  ; 
'Seventy-Two  withdrawing  on  account  of  the  sickness  of 
one  of  the  crew ;  and  the  Scientifics  doing  likewise  by 
reason  of  a  broken  oar.  Each  member  of  the  winning 
crew  was  awarded  a  silver  goblet.  In  the  gig  race,  for 


358  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

six  golden  oars,  between   'Seventy,   'Seventy-One,  and 
'Seventy-Two,  there  were  several  fouls,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  Commodore,  unable  to  decide  upon  whom 
the  blame  rested,  ordered  a  new  race  upon  the  following 
day,  in  which  the  first  won,  in  22:2,  against  the  second's 
22:12  •  while  the  third,  which  at  the  first  trial  had  come 
in  ahead,  in  22:40,  refused   to  row  at  all.     The  barge 
race,  for  six  silver  oars,  between  the  Academical  Fresh 
men  ('73),  in  the  boat  Tom   Paine,  and  the   Scientific 
Freshmen  ('72),  in  the  boat  Undine,  was  won  by  the  lat 
ter  in  15:16,  against  the  former's  16:7,  though  the  Tom 
Paine  was  allowed  305.  handicap.     The  fourth  race,  for 
double    sculls,  was  won  by  the    "  Betts    Brothers,"    in 
14:32,  against  the  "  Ricardi  Brothers,"  in   14:35.     Last, 
the  race  for  single  sculls — the  prize  being  a  "  silver-cup 
and  the  championship  of  the  university" — was  won  by 
J.  W.   Griswold  of  the  Scientific   School,  in   16:3  ;  fol 
lowed  by  R.  Terry  of  '70,  in  16:38  ;  R.  Colgate  of  S.  S., 
and  E.  T.  Owen  of '71,  whose  times  were  not  recorded. 
The  first  two  races  were  for  three  miles,  the  next  two 
for  two  miles,  and  the  last  for  a  mile  ;  which  distances 
had  been  accurately  laid  down  beforehand — a  thing  not 
often  accomplished  in  the  harbor.     Shortly  afterwards 
the   Scientifics  gained   the  champion   flag  by  sending 
'Seventy  a  challenge  which  the   latter   did   not   accept 
within   the  specified    four   weeks.     They  proved    their 
right  to  retain  it,  however,  by  coming  in  first  at  the  Salton- 
stall  race  of  June  28,  1870,  but  had  it  wrested  from  them 
by  the  Sophomores  of  '73  at  the  race  of  Oct.  22.     It  is 
not  unlikely  that  uncontestecl   transfers  of  the  flag  had 
been  made  in  the   past,   of  which  this  account  has  not 
taken  notice,  but  with  this  exception  the  championship 
has  been  correctly  traced,  from  the  Thulia  of  '54  to  the 
'73  Sophomores  of  to-day.     When  the  original  cham 
pion  flag — "  Pioneer,  Yale,  No.  i  " — disappeared,  is  un- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  359 

certain.  It  was  never  distinctly  mentioned  after  the 
time  of  its  first  award  in  1858.  Very  likely  it  now  lies 
hidden  in  some  senior-society  hall,  —  that  of  Bones 
according  to  report.  The  flag  now  in  use  is  of  blue 
silk,  almost  triangular  in  shape,  having  a  heavy  gilt 
fringe  for  a  border,  and  inscribed  simply  with  the  word 
"  Champion."  It  was  procured  eight  or  ten  years  ago. 
It  has  not  been  thought  worth  while  to  trace  the  cham 
pionship  of  the  second-class  boats, — at  one  time  barges, 
then  gigs  and  now  barges  again, — since  the  order  of  its 
succession  has  not  always  been  very  clearly  defined. 

Early  in  1870,  William  Walter  Phelps  of  '60,  as 
before  noticed,  pledged  an  annual  contribution  for  five 
years  of  $250,  to  be  used  in  the  encouragement  of  boat 
ing,  under  the  following  directions,  for  which  his  class 
mate,  Charles  H.  Owen,  of  the  University  crew  of  '59, 
is  chiefly  responsible  :  There  are  to  be  two  races  during 
the  summer  term, — one,  near  its  beginning,  in  the  har 
bor  ;  the  other,  near  its  close,  on  Lake  Saltonstall.  In 
the  first  the  contestants  are  to  row  in  6-oared  barges, 
directed  by  a  coxswain  ;  in  the  second  in  6-oared  shells 
without  coxswains ;  the  University  crew  must  be  a  par 
ticipant  in  both  races,  and  no  class  crew  can  compete 
in  the  shell  race  unless  it  has  previously  participated  in 
the  barge  contest.  The  best  crews  are  to  be  handi 
capped  in  each  case  to  put  them  as  nearly  as  possible 
on  an  equality  with  the  poorest, — the  barges  being  hand 
icapped  with  weights,  the  shells  with  time.  The  win 
ning  crew  in  each  race  has  $75  and  the  flag  ;  the  sec 
ond  best  $25,  and  the  remaining  portion  of  the  $250  is 
spent  in  lesser  prizes  at  the  discretion  of  the  president. 
There  were  five  entries  for  the  initial  barge  race,  which 
took  place  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  June  4,  1870, 
and  the  weights  of  the  boats  and  the  times  made  by  the 
crews  were  as  follows  :  'Seventy-Three,  250,  21:17  ;  Uni- 


360  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

versity,  360,  21:34;  'Seventy-Two,  320,  21:43^  ;  Scien 
tifics,  350,  22:18  'e  'Seventy-One,  320,  22:28^2.  The 
University  carried  a  75lb.  handicap,  and  'Seventy-One 
and  'Seventy-Three  3olbs.  each.  A  steam  tug,  carry 
ing  members  of  the  press,  invited  guests  from  the  faculty 
and  elsewhere,  and  other  favored  individuals,  followed 
close  upon  the  boats  in  this  race,  after  the  English 
fashion.  The  tug  used  also  to  follow  out  after  the  Uni 
versity  at  its  morning  practice  pulls,  and  carry  their 
trainer,  who  would  shout  forth  his  directions  to  them. 
By  the  sale  of  tickets  to  undergraduates  for  these  morn 
ing  excursions  the  expense  of  hiring  the  tug  was  greatly 
reduced.  At  the  Saltonstall  shell  races  of  June  22,  the 
actual  times  made  were  :  Scientifics,  19:36)4  ;  'Seventy- 
Three,  20  ;  University,  20:14  ;  'Seventy-Two,  20:19,  to 
which  a  155.  handicap  must  be  added  in  the  case  of  the 
University  and  Scientifics.  At  the  same  time  and  place 
the  single-scull  race  for  the  silver  cup  (offered  by  the 
Southworth  brothers  of  West  Springfield,  Mass., — 
George  C.  S.  Southworth  of  '63  and  Mace  S.  South- 
worth  of  '68, — elaborately  ornamented  from  designs  by 
Hamilton  Wallis  of  '63,  and  costing  about  $300)  was 
entered  into  by  five  contestants,  whose  names  and  times 
were  as  follows:  E.  T.  Owen,  14:1 i>£;  George  E. 
Dodge,  14:35- *  J  W.  H.  Lee,  14:57  ;  C.  W.  Gould,  15:3; 
and  T.  G.  Peck,  15:20, — the  first  and  last  of  them  be 
longing  to  '71,  the  others  to  '70.  The  fall  regatta  of 
1870  was  held  at  the  Lake,  Oct.  22,  and  comprised 
three  races  :  the  first  for  double-scull  wherries,  the  prize 
being  silver  goblets.  There  were  three  pairs  of  contest 
ants  announced,  all  from  '71,  but  one  pair  withdrew 
before  the  race,  the  other  during  its  progress,  and  the 
prizes  were  won  by  A.  W.  Curtis  and  C.  S.  Jelley,  in 
16:52.  Next  was  the  shell  race  between  'Seventy-Three 
and  the  Scientifics,  won  by  the  former,  22:44  to  23:13  V . 


7  'HE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  3  6 1 

In  the  single-scull  race  there  were  two  prizes — silver 
cups — and  four  contestants,  all  from  '73  except  the  first, 
who  was  from  '72  :  W.  P.  Hall,  17:24^^  ;  C.  Dewing, 
18:04;  E.  R.  Troxell,  19:13;  S.  Merrier,  19:29)0.  Last 
was  the  large  race,  for  prizes  of  six  miniature  golden  oars, 
between  'Seventy-Three  and  'Seventy-Four,  in  which  the 
actual  times  made  were  14:34^0  and  14:49)0,  but  as  the 
Freshmen  were  allowed  a  handicap  of  203,  they  won 
the  race  by  5  seconds.  This,  like  all  the  others  save  the 
shell,  was  a  2-mile  race,  and  excited  the  greatest  enthu 
siasm, — crowds  of  Sophomores  and  Freshmen  rushing 
along  the  shores  of  the  lake  for  a  half  mile  or  more, 
shrieking  encouragement  each  to  their  own  party. 
Though  these  later  races  at  the  Lake  have  not  attracted 
so  much  attention  as  the  initial  one,  they  have  all  of 
them  been  more  largely  attended  and  more  successful 
in  every  way  than  any  of  the  previous  harbor  races, — 
heavily-loaded  extra  trains,  and  many  private  convey 
ances  bringing  together  a  very  great  number  of  spec 
tators  ;  and  the  wonder  is  that  the  spot  had  not  been 
sooner  resorted  to.  The  Navy  charters  the  special 
train,  sells  the  excursion  tickets,  supplies  the  conduct 
ors,  and  pockets  the  profits,  if  any.  The  boating  men 
of  college  are  not  disposed  to  look  with  much  favor  on 
the  new  system  introduced  last  year,  and  they  predict 
that  it  will  shortly  be  abandoned,  and  the  barges  be 
exchanged  for  gigs  again.  They  say  that  rowing  in  a 
barge  with  a  coxswain  is  demoralizing  to  those  who 
afterwards  row  in  a  shell  without  one  ;  and  the  objec 
tion  seems  reasonable.  It  will  be  noticed  that  last  year 
the  Scientifics  who  paid  no  attention  to  barge  practice, 
but  rowed  the  race  as  a  matter  of  form,  were  victorious 
in  the  shell  race  ;  while  the  University  who  had  worked 
hard  in  its  barge  practice  was  discomfited  in  its  shell. 
After  the  race  of  June  4,  the  three  heavy  barges  were 


3^2  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

quickly  got  rid  of,  as  already  stated ;  and  if  others  are 
bought  hereafter  they  will  doubtless  be  of  the  light 
shell-bottomed  variety,  by  the  use  of  which  '73  were 
victorious  in  that  first  trial.  It  is  expected  that  none 
but  '73  and  '74  will  enter  the  barge  race  of  the  present 
summer.  Handicapping,  too,  is  a  practice  which  excites 
a  very  general  disgust.  Though  the  tendency  of  the 
Southworth  cup  is  evidently  to  tempt  men  who  should 
belong  on  the  University  crew,  to  abandon  it  in  favor  of 
practice  with  the  single-sculls,  there  are  probably  enough 
counteracting  influences  to  prevent  this  from  leading  to 
disastrous  results. 

There  have  been  a  half-dozen  or  more  irregular  re 
gattas,  devised  by  themselves  or  outsiders,  in  which 
Yale  boatmen  have  taken  part.  The  first  was  at  Hart 
ford,  July  4,  1856,  in  which  the  Transit  (Scientifics) 
"  was  entered  in  a  3-mile  race  against  the  Undine  of 
that  city,  and  the  4-oared  shell,  Virginia,  manned  by 
New  York  pilots.  The  Transit  led  down  to  the  stake- 
boat,  but  fouling  it  in  turning,  the'  Virginia  reached 
ahead  by  a  few  lengths,  and  won  the  first  prize,  $100. 
The  Transit  took  the  second,  a  set  of  colors,  and  won, 
besides,  no  mean  reputation  for  skill  as  oarsmen."  The 
next  was  at  New  London,  July  6,  1858,  to  which  boats 
were  invited  "from  all  parts  of  the  world."  Nine 
prizes,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  $120,  were  offered 
by  the  citizens,  or  one  for  every  boat  which  entered. 
Wherries,  4-oared,  5-oared,  and  8-oared  boats  were  all 
placed  on  an  equality,  and  no  handicaps  allowed.  The 
boats  were  started  separately,  at  intervals,  and  rowed 
over  a  course  of  about  4  miles,  not  measured,  around  3 
stake  boats.  The  only  college  boats  were  the  two 
Olympias  of  the  Scientifics,  of  which  the  8-oared  club- 
boat  won  the  first  prize  ($25)  in  32:35,  and  the  4-oared 
shell  the  second  ($20),  in  35:50,  both  prizes  consisting 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  363 

of  silver  goblets.  "  The  race  must  have  been  replete 
with  interest  to  those  persons  who  yet  cling  to  the  mis 
taken  belief,  that  whale-boats  manned  by  whalemen,  can 
successfully  compete  with  college-boats  owned  by  stu 
dents.  The  Olympia  club-boat  beat  the  whale  boat 
entered  in  this  regatta,  even  allowing  handicap,  more 
than  6*2  minutes."  A  year  later,  July  4,  Yale  was 
beaten  at  New  London :  Varuna,  in  a  contest  between 
six-oared  boats,  coming  in  the  fifth  of  seven  competitors, 
in  24:27,  against  22:28,  the  best  time  made  ;  and,  throw 
ing  out  two  of  its  oars  to  engage  in  a  second,  4-oared 
race,  was  again  beaten  by  a  professional  crew.  The 
Yale  boats,  adapted  for  New  Haven  harbor  only,  were 
practically  disabled  by  the  rough  water,  which  did  not 
injure  the  whalemen.  These  winners  were  urgently  in 
vited  to  take  part  in  the  New  Haven  race  of  next  day, 
and  offered  a  chance  at  the  college  prizes  ;  but  declined 
to  enter.  On  that  occasion  it  will  be  remembered  that 
Varuna  beat  Olympia  22:26  to  23:37,  or  2  s.  better  than 
the  winning  time  at  New  London.  The  same  day,  July 
4,  1859,  at  Middletown,  Yale  had  better  luck, — the 
Atalanta  taking  the  first  prize  ($60),  in  23:10,  and  the 
Olympia  the  second  ($30)  in  23:30;  while  the  Atalanta 
of  Hartford  made  23:40,  and  the  Aliotus,  of  the  same 
city,  being  secretly  manned  by  a  professional  crew,  was 
ruled  out  for  attempted  fraud.  Still  a  third  race  took 
place  on  the  same  day,  this  time  at  New  Haven,  between 
four  of  the  college  boats.  The  2.^  mile  course  was 
rowed  over  by  Thulia  (Freshmen  of '62)  in  23  m.,  against 
23:15  by  Eolus  (Law  students),  which  was  allowed  225. 
handicap.  The  prize  was  a  silver  goblet.  Wenonaand 
Cymothoe  were  the  other  two  boats.  Next  day,  July  5, 
1859,  a  regatta  was  held  which  was  "  witnessed  by  nearly 
1500  people."  The  race  of  the  three  first-class  boats 
for  the  championship  has  been  already  described.  In 


364  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  second  class,  8  boats  entered,  of  which  the  Wenona 
(Juniors  of  '60)  took  the  first  prize  in  25:30,  and  the 
Naiad  (with  the  victorious  Thulia  crew  of  the  day  before) 
the  second,  in  26:50.  The  other  boats  were  :  Eolus 
(Law  students),  Cymothoe,  Lorelei,  and  Atalanta  (Soph 
omores  of  '61),  and  Nautilus  and  Thulia  (Freshmen  of 
'62).  At  Providence,  July  4,  1860,  Yale  won  the  two 
prizes  ($150  and  $90)  offered  by  the  citizens,  by  making 
"  less  miserable  time  than  the  other  boats,"  which  were  : 
Brunonia  of  Brown  University,  withdrawn ;  Una  of 
Providence,  "  in  sight  at  the  close  of  the  race."  and  a 
five-oared  boat  "  not  in  sight  "  then.  Of  the  Yale  boats, 
the  University  shell  went  over  the  course  in  21:28,  and 
the  Thulia  (Sophomores  of '62),  in  22:25.  Tms  seems 
to  have  been  the  last  outside  race  in  which  the  college 
took  part.  Casual  mention  is  made  that  year  of  "  the 
Bowdoin  regatta "  at  which  one  of  the  members  of  the 
University  crew  was  disabled,  but  nothing  more  can  be 
learned  concerning  it.  June  23,  1864,  there  were  a 
couple  of  impromptu  scrub-races,  in  the  first  of  which 
the  Undine  barge  won  the  prize  of  30  cents  from  its 
competitor  the  Varuna  shell.  In  the  second,  the  Uni 
versity,  the  Sophomores  and  the  Freshmen  rowed  in  the 
order  named.  The  distance  was  from  the  Pavilion  to 
the  East  Haven  shore  and  return  ;  and  all  the  boats  in 
the  second  race  suffered  from  broken  wires,  unshipped 
oars,  and  unnumerable  fouls.  The  last  independent 
harbor -regatta  of  any  importance  took  place  October 
25,  1865,  for  the  silver  cup  offered  by  ex-Commodore 
Wilbur  Bacon.  In  the  shell  race,  Varuna  beat  the  Uni 
versity  crew  of  1866 — 19:15  to  19:50;  in  the  gig  race, 
Glyuna  beat  the  Undine — 19:52  to  20:55  \  anc^  m  tne 
wherry  race, 'George  Adee  of  '67  beat  Frank  Brown  of 
'66,  who  had  just  been  pulling  bow  oar  in  the  University 
shell. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3^5 

In  the  old  days  of  boating  every  club  had  its  own 
distinctive  uniform,  boat  flags,  lanterns,  etc.,  and  the 
motley  appearance  thereby  engendered  is  thus  com 
mented  upon  by  a  writer  of  1857:  "Once  or  twice  a 
week  Chapel  street  is  variegated  with  men  who  look  as 
if  they  had  been  melted  and  poured  into  their  tight- 
fitting  white  pants.  They  wear  shirts  of  all  the  different 
colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  carry  red  and  white  hand 
bills  on  their  breasts,  informing  the  curious  spectator  of 
the  precise  spot  in  the  college  world  from  which  the 
bearer  hails.  In  the  old  times,  a  modest,  dark-blue  flannel 
shirt,  with  an  "  A,  '54,"  on  the  breast,  constituted  the 
sole  uniform  of  a  boat-club  man.  A  change  of  our 
present  style  of  uniforms  in  this  direction,  would  be  ad 
vantageous."  Undoubtedly  this  matter  of  uniforms  was 
one  of  the  minor  arguments  which  led  to  the  adoption  of 
the  "  English-university  system  "  of  boating.  Under 
this,  the  Glyuna  "rig"  consisted  of  "dark  blue  shirt 
and  pants,  with  red  facings,  black  belt "  ;  that  of  Varuna, 
"  blue  shirts,  trimmed  with  white,  black  leather  belts 
with  *  Varuna '  and  number  of  class  painted  in  white, 
blue  pants,  red  caps"  ;  that  of  Undine,  "  blue  shirts  with 
stars  on  collar,  white  '  U '  on  the  front,  with  trimmings, 
blue  pants."  Each  club,  besides  an  American  ensign 
for  the  stern,  and  the  champion  flag  or  flags  it  might  at 
times  hold,  possessed  special  colors  of  its  own  for  the 
bow,  thus:  (i)  "Blue  burgee,  with  'Glyuna'  and  fouled 
anchor,  blue  burgee  with  'Glyuna'  alone";  (2)  "red 
jack  with  '  Varuna '  in  white  "  ;  (3)  "  blue  jack,  with  '  U  ' 
in  German  text  worked  in  center."  These  uniforms 
were  never  much  worn,  however,  and  while  '69  was  in 
college,  even  before  the  general  clubs  were  abandoned, 
had  become  almost  wholly  obsolete.  The  class  clubs 
have  not  adopted  any  elaborate  rig  nor  are  they  likely 
to.  Of  late  years,  the  only  uniform  practically  known 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

to  the  college,  is  a  rough  blue  blouse  of  flannel,  worn 
by  the  members  of  a  University  or  Freshman  six  "  in 
training"  for  the  race  against  Harvard.  Sometimes  a 
peculiar  style  of  hat  or  trousers  is  also  affected  by  them. 
The  ordinary  rig  while  racing  or  practising  consists 
simply  of  drawers  and  sleeveless  undershirt.  Handker 
chiefs  are  sometimes  worn  about  the  head,  and  in  prac 
tice  trips  the  shirts  are  often  dispensed  with,  especially 
by  the  University  crew.  In  June,  1853,  was  procured 
a  blue  silk  burgee,  heavily  fringed  with  white  silk,  with 
a  white  star  in  the  center,  surrounded  by  six  smaller 
ones  (probably  representing  the  number  of  boats  then 
in  the  Navy),"  which  has  served  ever  since  as  a  Com 
modore's  flag. 

The  history  of  the  aquatic  contests  between  Yale 
and  Harvard  may  be  appropriately  divided  into  two 
periods  :  the  first  embracing  the  irregular  trials  of  the  nine 
years,  iS52-'6o ;  the  second,  the  seven  regular  University 
races  of  the  successive  years,  i864--'7o.  James  M. 
Whiton  of  '53  has  the  credit  of  instituting  the  initial 
contest,  which  took  place  at  the  town  of  Center  Harbor, 
on  Lake  Winnepiseogee,  New  Hampshire,  in  August, 
1852,  "as  announced  in  the  brilliant  red  papers,  indus 
triously  circulated  through  all  that  region."  "  Harvard 
was  at  first  16th  to  assent  to  a  regatta,  and  required 
much  persuasion,  but  finally  representatives  of  Yale 
and  Harvard  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  hotel-keeper 
at  the  Lake,  who  paid  all  expenses,  in  view  of  the  crowd 
of  spectators  which  the  race  would  attract  to  his  house. 
The  Undine,  partly  manned  from  the  shore  on  the  day 
of  the  race,  the  Halcyon,  under  the  name  of  Shawmut, 
and  manned  by  the  Shawmut  crew  of  '53,  and  the  Ata- 
lanta,  a  four-oared  race-boat,  hired  in  New  York  and 
named  for  the  occasion,  and  which  was  not  allowed  to 
compete,  were  entered  by  Yale,  though  Halcyon  was 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE. 

her  champion.  Harvard  entered  the  Oneida.  The 
first  day,  the  third  of  August,  was  clear,  a^nd  the  little 
town  of  Center  Harbor  was  fairly  crowded  with  specta 
tors.  A  *  scrub-race  '  came  off  in  the  morning,  and  a 
handsome  silk  flag,  obtained  by  private  subscription, 
was  handsomely  won  by  the  Oneida.  In  the  afternoon 
the  decisive  trial  was  had,  and  in  a  two-mile  pull  to 
windward,  up  to  the  town  from  a  stake-boat  placed  down 
the  lake,  the  Harvard  boat  beat  by  two  lengths,  win 
ning  the  first  prize,  a  pair  of  silver-mounted  black-wal 
nut  sculls.  On  the  second  day  appointed  [Thursday, 
August  5],  a  violent  rain  put  a  damper  on  the  sport, 
and  compelled  the  valiant  marines  to  roll  ten-pins, 
smoke,  drink,  and  what  not.  In  the  afternoon,  how 
ever,  by  the  consent  of  all,  the  second  prize,  a  silver- 
tipped  boat-hook,  was  awarded  the  Shavvmut  (Halcyon), 
as  having  been  second  in  Tuesday's  race.  Eventually 
the  storm  lulled,  and  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the  few 
visitors  assembled,  the  uniforms  were  brought  out,  the 
oars  manned,  and  a  sort  of  dog-trot  rowing  was  exhib 
ited,  and  then  songs  were  sung,  and  cheers  were  given 
until  our  throats  were  sore,  and  all  said 'Well  done.' 
A  pleasant  trip  to  Plymouth  terminated  the.  entertain 
ment  of  the  week." 

The  next  regatta  took  place  on  the  Connecticut  river 
at  Springfield,  Saturday,  July  21,  1855,  in  response  to  a 
challenge  from  Yale,  sent  at  the  time  of  the  Fourth-of- 
July  race, — two  weeks  and  a  half  before, — when  Har 
vard  failed  to  put  in  an  appearance.  "  Crews  were 
picked  and  favorite  boats  manned  by  both  colleges,  and 
they  arrived  in  Springfield  on  Friday,  to  examine  their 
course  and  look  about  a  little.  Yale  entered  Nereid 
and  Nautilus.  Harvard,  Y.  Y.,  four  oars,  thirty-two 
feet,  no  coxswain ;  and  Iris,  eight  oars,  forty  feet,  with 
the  same  coxswain  who  steered  the  Oneida,  three  years 


368  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

before.     Undine,  four  oars,  was  also  present  from  Har 
vard,  but  was  not  entered.     Col.  James  M.  Thompson 
of  Springfield   was  umpire,   and   the    two  Yale  judges 
were  George  W.   Smalley  of  '53,  now  London  corres 
pondent  of  the  Tribune,  and  George  W.  James  of  Brook 
lyn,  builder  of  Yale's  favorite  boat,  Nereid.     The  prize 
was  a  beautiful  set  of  silk  boat-flags,  pennant,  jack  and 
ensign,  offered  by  the  citizens  of  Springfield.     A  handi 
cap    of    ns-per   oar   was    allowed    the    smaller   boats. 
The   course   was   three  miles,  half   down   stream    and 
back,  and  the     actual   times   made   were  :    Iris,    22111.  : 
Y.  Y.,  22:47  ;  Nereid,  24111.  ;  and  Nautilus  25m. ;  which 
the  handicap  allowed  the  last  three  boats  would  change 
to  22:3,  23:38  and  24:38,  respectively.     Nereid  of  Yale 
took  the  lead  at  the  start  and  kept  it  for  the  first  400 
yards,  but  at  the  stake-boat  the   Harvard   crews  were 
ahead,  and   so   they  came  in  '  amid  the  cheers  of  thou 
sands  of  spectators.'     In  the  evening,  three  of  the  Y.  Y. 
crew,  and  three  of  the  Union  club  of  Boston,  manned 
the  Nereid,  working  her  with  the  Iris's  oars,  and  went 
over  the  course  against  time.     Though  unpractised  to 
gether,  and  with  a  coxswain  who  had  never  been  over 
the  course  before,  they  pulled  the  favorite  Yale  boat  over 
the  three  miles  in  21:45,  or  155.  less  than  the  winning 
eight-oared  Iris  had  made  the  distance.     This  fully  sub 
stantiated  the  Nereid's  merits  and  the  superiority  of  the 
Boston    and    Harvard   oarsmen.     The    Harvard    men 
were,  it  is  true,  of  much  more  powerful  physical  devel 
opment  than  those  of  Yale,  but  they  also  showed  much 
more  skill  and  coolness  in   handling  their  oars.     The 
stroke  of  the  Yale  boats  was  very  convulsive  and  quick 
and    almost   impossible    to   maintain  for  any  distance. 
Many  friends  of  both  colleges  were  present  and  the 
excitement  was  intense.     The  news  of  the  result  was 
sent  far  and  wide  by  telegraph,  and  of  the  extra  Repub- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  369 

iy  containing  an  account  of  the  race,  more  than  2000 
copies  were  sold,  before  the  contestants  started  home 
wards, — the  Yale  men  at  7  o'clock,  the  Harvard  clubs, 
three  hours  later." 

The  Lit.  for  October  following  thus  mentioned  the 
race:  "Just  before  the  close  of  last  summer  term  a 
regatta  occurred  at  Springfield,  between  two  Harvard 
boats  and  two  of  our  own  Navy.  The  latter  were  badly 
beaten,  but  we  dislike  to  dwell  on  particulars.  We  hope 
our  boys  will  improve  their  system  of  rowing,  and  do 
better  next  time."  Two  years  later,  a  writer  in  the 
same  magazine  makes  the  sarcastic  suggestion,  "  that  if 
we  should  ever,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  become 
so  rash  as  to  challenge  Harvard  to  another  race,  the 
following  rules  be  adopted  on  that  occasion: 

"  '  i.  For  three  weeks  previous  to  the  race,  the  Yale  Navy  shall 
resolve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  to  brag. 

'  2.  No  boat  shall  be  allowed  to  enter  from  Yale,  which  will  not 
give  bonds  to  keep  in  sight  of  the  last  boat  of  the  Harvard  crews. 

'  3.  No  man  shall  be  chosen  for  the  racing  crew  who  does  not 
weigh  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  is  not  able  to  hold 
two  pounds  at  arm's  length  for  the  space  of  five  seconds. 

'  4.  The  crew  shall  be  required  to  diet  themselves  on  raw  beef 
and  oat  meal,  for  six  weeks  before  the  race. 

'  5.  The  captain  of  the  boat  chosen  to  compete  with  Harvard, 
must  stand  up  when  the  wind  is  blowing  against  him ;  must  steer 
into  the  middle  of  the  opposing  current,  and  must  run  the  boat  into 
the  stake-boat  while  attempting  to  turn  around  it. 

«  6.  The  strokes  of  the  oars  must  be  at  the  rate  of  twenty  a  sec 
ond,  and  must  take  a  sweep  of  six  inches. 

4  7.  The  crew  of  the  Yale  boat  must  be  allowed  to  look  at  the 
prize  before  it  is  awarded  to  Harvard.' " 

Though  the  credit  of  starting  the  first  regatta  (1852) 
belongs  to  Yale,  Harvard  claims  the  honor  of  originat 
ing  the  proposition  to  institute  a  "  union-college  regatta," 
to  occur  at  stated  intervals,  either  annual  or  otherwise, 
and  be  shared  in  by  as  many  colleges  as  possible.  In 


370  FOUR   YEARS  *AT  YALE. 

support  of  this  plan,  a  meeting  was  held  at  New  Haven, 
May  26,  1858,  to  which  Harvard,  Brown,  Trinity  and 
Yale  each  sent  a  delegate,  while  representatives  of  Dart 
mouth  and  Columbia  were  expected  but  failed  to  appear. 
It  was  there  voted  :  "  That  the  regatta  of  that  year  be 
held  on  Friday,  July  23,  and  that  the  place  be  Springfield 
provided  sufficient  pecuniary  inducements  be  offered  by 
the  citizens  thereof ;  that  at  each  regatta  the  time  and 
place  of  holding  the  next  one  be  determined  ;  that  none 
but  academical  undergraduates  (including  the  graduat 
ing  class)  take  part  therein  •  that  each  college  enter  as 
many  boats  as  it  chose,  and  row  them  with  or  without 
coxswains ;  that  the  course  be  three  statute  miles  in 
length,  and  that  an  allowance  of  12  s.  per  oar  be  given 
the  smaller  boats  ;  that  the  position  of  the  boats  be  de 
termined  by  lot ;  that  each  college  entering  appoint  an 
umpire,  and  the  umpires  a  referee ;  and  that  a  set  of 
silk  colors  with  suitable  inscriptions  be  given  the  win 
ning  boat, — the  cost  of  the  same  not  to  exceed  $25,  and 
to  be  met  by  the  entrance  fees  required  of  the  contest 
ing  boats."  The  secretary  was  also  instructed  to  invite 
other  colleges  to  join  the  association,  and  take  part  in 
the  coming  and  subsequent  races.  Six  days  before  the 
time  appointed  for  the  race,  Saturday  night,  July  17, 
1858,  while  the  Yale  boat  was  taking  a  practice  pull  on 
the  river  at  Springfield,  a  collision  with  another  craft 
overturned  it,  and  its  stroke  oarsman,  George  E.  Dun 
ham  of  '59,  sank  to  the  bottom  and  was  drowned.  This 
melancholy  accident  of  course  broke  up  the  race,  and 
the  crews  from  Yale  and  Harvard — those  from  Brown 
and  Trinity  not  having  arrived — separated  without  mak 
ing  arrangements  for  any  future1  contest. 

A  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  four  colleges  was 
held  at  Providence,  February  23  following,  and  the 
arrangements  of  the  year  before  again  adopted.  It  was 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  37  * 

also  voted  that  the  next  regatta  be  held  on  July  22,  fol 
lowing,  either  at  Springfield  or  Worcester  ;  but  doubtless 
the  sad  recollections  of  the  disaster  at  the  former  place 
induced  a  change  of  locality,  for  Lake  Quinsigamond 
was  ultimately  selected,  and  all  the  University  races 
have  since  been  held  there.  It  lies  some  two  miles  from 
the  city  of  Worcester,  and  is,  in  round  numbers,  40 
miles  from  Cambridge  and  120  miles  from  New  Haven. 
There,  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  July  26,  1859,  was 
held  the  first  "  union-college  regatta"  ;  four  boats  from 
three  colleges  rowing  over  the  three-mile  course,  half 
down  the  lake  and  return.  Harvard  won,  in  19:18  ; 
followed  by  Yale,  in  20:18;  by  Avon  of  Harvard,  in 
21:13,  and  finally  by  Atalanta  of  Brown  University,  in 
24:40.  One  of  the  Yale  crew,  a  Lit.  editor  of  '60  writes 
as  follows  :  "  After  getting  clear  of  the  Avon,  which, 
through  accident  doubtless,  fouled  us,  we  came  in  about 
half  way  between  the  two  Harvard  boats,  having  the 
double  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  colors  which  the  Harvard 
won,  and  winning  for  our  betting  friends  the  sums  which 
they  had  staked  against  the  Avon.  Meanwhile  the  Har 
vard  crew  assured  us  that,  in  spite  of  our  short  practice 
and  the  fouling,  we  had  come  in  nearer  to  them  than 
any  other  boat  ever  did. 

"  But  on  Wednesday,  July  27,  was  the  final  race  for 
prizes  offered  by  the  city.  Only  the  Harvard  entered 
against  us,  and  after  drawing  the  inside,  we  took  position 
at  22  minutes  past  2.  The  Harvard  took  the  lead,  but 
about  a  mile  up  we  closed  with  her  and  passed  her,  her 
bow  fouling  our  starboard  oars.  Getting  clear  by  a  pecu 
liar  maneuvre  of  the  coxswain, — who,  catching  the  Har 
vard's  bow  in  his  hand,  magnanimously  refused  to  strap 
it  to  the  Yale's  stern,— we  rounded  the  stake-boat  first. 
The  Harvard, .  however,  turned  in  splendid  style  and 
lapped  us  before  we  started  on  the  home  stretch.  Com- 


37 2  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ing  up  abreast  of  us,  for  more  than  a  mile  the  race  was 
stern  and  stern,  sometimes  one  leading  a  few  inches  and 
then  the  other,  while  the  10,000  spectators  along  the 
shore  endeavored  to  add  a  degree  of  intensity  to  the 
excitement  by  cheers  and  shouts.  But  to  see  those  red 
turbans  beside  us  was  all  we  could  think  of,  and  men 
shouted  'Pull,  Yale!'  *  Pull,  Harvard!'  indifferently 
to  us,  for  we  hardly  heard  it.  So  down  the  Lake  we 
came,  till,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  home,  Harvard  led 
a  clear  length,  and  our  stroke  which  had  been,  so  they 
tell  us,  48  to  the  minute,  began  to  flag,  but  as  the  stroke- 
oar  called  to  us  for  a  final  home  spurt  we  '  responded  ' 
(how,  we  cannot  one  of  us  tell),  and  pulled  by  Harvard, 
beating  her  a  length  and  a  half,  19:14  to  19:16, — better 
ing  her  time  of  the  day  before  by  4  seconds,  and  our 
own  by  64  ! 

"  To  say  that  we  were  excited  would  be  ridiculous. 
To  say  that  we  were  mad  would  be  to  forget  that  we 
never  pulled  a  stroke  so  steady,  or  so  cool  and  power 
ful.  But  after  all  our  reverses,  after  continual  ridicule 
and  derision,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  to  find  our 
selves  in  less  than  twenty  minutes  the  victors  of  that 
world-known  Harvard  crew,  to  see  the  famous  red  tur 
bans  tossed  overboard,  and  hear  the  roaring  cheers  ring 
up  along  the  whole  length  of  the  Lake,  was  too  sudden 
a  change.  We  cannot  deny  that  while  sedate  graduates 
crowded  to  meet  us,  and  actually  walked  into  the  Lake 
without  knowing  where  they  went,  and  grey-haired  Vale 
boys  spoiled  their  best  beavers  as  they  dashed  them 
together,  that  the  crew  who  were  sitting  in  their  frail 
shell  more  steadily  than  ever  before,  and  pulling  with  an 
easier  swing,  were  really  wilder  in  their  joy  than  any 
spectators  could  be,  and  felt  a  keener  glow  of  spirit. 
And  when  they  crowded  up  and  shook  us  till  they  shook 
out  of  us  what  little  breath  there  was  left,  and  almost 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  373 

shook  us  to  pieces,  our  pride  or  training  even  would  not 
have  kept  our  nerves  quiet,  but  that  this  excitement 
seemed  as  nothing  compared  with  that  last  half  mile. 

"  But  even  in  success  it  was  impossible  not  to  regret 
the  disappointment  of  those  who  had  treated  us  so  hand 
somely,  and  who  took  their  reverses  in  so  fair  and  manly 
a  spirit.  It  was  the  last  time  they  were  to  pull  together, 
a  crew  that  had  never  been  beaten,  who,  with  their  boat, 
had  for  two  years  held  the  championship  of  the  Conti 
nent.  The  latter  part  of  the  evening  found  most  of  us  in 
the  Union  Club  Rooms,  where  everything  was  provided 
for  our  taste,  and  we  showed  most  satisfactorily  that  we 
were  no  longer  *  on  diet.'  You  know  what  a  noise  there 
was  in  New  Haven;  how  even  the  sanctity  of  the  col 
lege  bell  was  violated,  and  no  one  has  been  expelled  for 
it ;  and  how  the  gladdest  and  wildest  were  the  old  patri 
archs  who  should  have  been  most  dignified." 

The  names  of  the  winning  crew  were :  H.  L. 
Johnson  ('60)  stroke,  C.  T.  Stanton  (?6i),  H.  W. 
Camp  ('60),  J.  H.  Twichell  ('59),  C.  H.  Owen  ('60),  F. 
H.  Colton  ('61),  bow,  H.  Watkins  ('59),  coxswain.  Five 
of  them  were  afterwards  commissioned  officers  in  the 
war.  It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  terrific  stroke  of 
48  to  60  to  the  minute,  kept  up  by  the  Yale  crew  in  this 
race,  was  necessitated  by  the  shortness  of  the  oars, 
which,  by  a  blunder  of  the  builder,  were  only  io)4  feet 
long.  Spite  of  this  drawback,  and  spite  of  the  foul,  the 
time  made  (19:14)  was  the  fastest  ever  made  in  America 
to  that  date,  and  has  never  been  equaled  by  a  6-oared 
American  crew,  carrying  an  adult  coxswain.  The  Gersh 
Banker  of  the  Ward  brothers  which  next  year  made 
18:37  was  fully  equipped,  and  had  a  4o-pound  boy  for 
coxswain.  Before  the  second  day's  race  of  '59,  bets  of 
$100  to  $5  were  freely  offered  in  favor  of  Harvard,  and 
a  member  of  the  crew  relates  that  the  assurance  of  a 


374  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Yale  man  that  he  had  accepted  such  a  bet  "  was  cher 
ished  as  the  only  word  of  encouragement  we  could  recol 
lect  for  weeks." 

This  was  Yale's  first  aquatic  triumph,  and  next  year, 
under  its  inspiration,  each  one  of  the  three  lower  classes 
challenged  the  corresponding  Harvard  class  to  a  trial  of 
oars,  at  the  time  of  the  "  union-college  regatta,"  for 
which,  of  course,  a  University  crew  was  also  promised. 
The  Harvard  Juniors  declined,  while  the  two  lower 
classes  accepted  the  challenge.  The  Lit.  for  October, 
1860,  says:  "For  some  time  back  there  have  been 
vague  rumors  floating  about  college,  in  regard  to  an 
imaginary  regatta,  said  to  have  come  off  at  Worcester 
at  the  end  of  last  term,  in  which  Yale  College,  from 
Alpha  to  Omega,  was  emphatically  '  wiped  out.'  '  Were 
you  up  to  Worcester  ? '  was  the  pointed,  and  we  might 
add  impertinent  question,  which  was  propounded  to 
every  new-comer  on  his  arrival  here  at  the  beginning  of 
the  term.  A  terrific  and  crusty  '  No'  was  the  invariable 
reply,  until  the  interested  enquirer  began  to  doubt  the 
reality  of  boat  races  in  general,  and  of  the  Worcester 
races  in  particular.  We  have  endeavored  to  unravel  the 
mystery  which  has  seemingly  surrounded  this  affair,  and 
the  first  fruit  of  our  research  is  the  establishment  of  the 
fact  that  the  Worcester  races  of  last  July  [27  and  28?] 
were  neither  imaginary  nor  mythical,  but  a  historical 
and  painful  reality." 

In  the  freshman  race,  though  the  Glyuna  of  Yale  was 
a  much  better  boat  than  the  Thetis  of  Harvard,  the 
latter  won,  in  19:40  to  the  former's  20:20.  In  the 
sophomore  race,  Harvard  (Haidee)  again  won,  in  20:17  ; 
— the  Thulia  of  Yale  giving  up  just  after  turning  the 
stake-boat  on  account  of  the  sudden  illness  of  one  of  its 
crew.  "  Next  came  the  race  of  the  day.  A  rope  had 
been  stretched  across  the  foot  of  the  lake,  and  attached 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  375 

to  it,  at  regular  intervals  were  small  blocks  of  wood, 
against  which  the  stem  of  every  boat  was  to  be  placed 
before  the  start  was  made.  The  Harvard,  the  Yale, 
and  the  Brown  had  entered  the  lists,  and  at  the  word 
'  Give  way ! '  all  got  offin  fine  style.  The  Harvard  with  a 
tremendous  leap  shot  ahead  of  the  other  two  ;  the  Yale 
pressed  plose  after,  while  the  Brown  at  once  fell  behind." 
These  relative  positions  were  kept  to  the  end,  the  time 
being  18:53,  J9:5>  anc^  2I:I5-  The  Brunonians,  with 
a  boat  that,  though  built  specially  for  the  occasion,  was 
poor  and  almost  feather  weight,  "  showed  their  pluck 
by  entering  the  race,  and  their  judgment  by  backing  the 
Harvard."  The  champion  colors  were  presented  the 
winning  crew  by  Charles  H.  Owen  of  '60,  who  took  part 
in  the  race  of  the  year  before,  and  wrote  the  account  of 
it  that  has  been  quoted. 

In  the  "citizen's  regatta''  of  the  following  day,  Har 
vard  refused  to  row,  one  of  the  crew  being,  as  alleged, 
unwell.  As  this  made  some  hard  feeling,  it  was  pro 
posed  that  four  should  be  picked  from  each  crew  to 
enter  the  second  day's  race,  but  as  Harvard  had  a 
shorter  boat,  which  could  turn  the  buoy  sooner,  and  was, 
moreover,  not  burdened  by  a  coxswain,  the  unequal 
offer  was  at  once  declined  by  Yale.  A  second  race 
was,  however,  arranged  between  the  Yale  sophomore 
and  the  Harvard  sophomore  and  freshman  boats  ;  but, 
just  after  the  start,  the  first  mentioned  was  badly  fouled 
by  the  second,  and  withdrew,  leaving  the  Harvard 
Freshmen  to  defeat  at  their  ease  their  sophomore  rivals. 
Lastly,  Yale  entered  the  race  against  the  Gersh  Banker, 
manned  by  the  Ward  brothers,  the  Union,  a  crack  club 
of  Boston,  and  the  Quickstep,  a  Worcester  boat;  in 
.which  the  Wards  won  the  first  prize  ($100),  in  the  then 
unprecedented  time  of  18:37,  the  Yale  the  second  ($60), 
in  19:10,  followed  by  the  Union,  in  19:41  ;  but,  as  an 


376  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

extraordinary  handicap  of  15  s.  per  oar  was  allowed  this 
boat,  Yale  gained  the  second  prize  by  only  a  single 
second. 

This  second  and  last  trial  of  the  union-college  re 
gatta  system  proved  conclusively  that  it  was  a  failure, — 
Brown  having  twice  entered,  only  to  be  hopelessly  de 
feated,  and  Trinity  and  Columbia  having  failed  to  enter 
at  all.  Henceforth,  confessedly,  as  always  actually,  the 
contest  was  confined  to  the  two  great  colleges.  Next 
year,  there  was  no  talk  of  a  race,  on  either  side,  the  Yale 
corporation,  at  its  meeting  of  1860,  having  forbidden  the 
students  to  enter  any  such  during  term  time,  and  Com 
mencement  at  Harvard  coming  a  fortnight  earlier  than 
at  Yale.  And  so  there  was  an  interval  of  four  years 
before  the  "  second  period  " — that  of  annual  University 
races — was  inaugurated.  As  a  matter  of  convenience, 
however,  it  may  be  well  to  record  at  this  time  the 
minor  trials  that  have  taken  place  within  this  second 
period,  before  going  on  to  describe  the  7  great  Univer 
sity  races,  1864-70.  And  it  would  aid  to  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  boating  matters  between  Yale  and 
Harvard,  on  the  part  of  the  general  public,  if  the  news 
paper  writers,  in  making  their  comparisons  and  deduc 
tions,  would  hereafter  disregard  those  irregular  and 
preparatory  contests  of  the  9  years  ending  with  1860,  as 
well  as  the  minor  trials  now  to  be  mentioned,  and  would 
confine  themselves  simply  to  the  annual  University  races 
from  1864  onward. 

The  first  great  University  struggle, — of  July  29,1864, — 
was  preceded  by  a  sophomore  ('66)  race  in  which  Har 
vard  won,  20:15  to  T9:55 — one  of  the  Yale  crew  giving 
out  at  the  buoy.  Next  day  the  Harvard  Sophomores 
were  beaten  by  a  professional  crew,  in  19:8.  A  year 
later,  Saturday,  July  29, — the  day  after  the  second  great 
University  race,  in  which  Yale  had  won  the  flag  in  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  377 

then   unprecedented   time   of  17:42^,— the   University 
crew  entered  the  "  citizens'  regatta "  and  won  the  first 
prize  ($200),  in  19:5  against  the  19:20  of  the  Harvard 
University  crew,  its  only  contestant,  whose  time  the  day 
before  had  been  18:9.    The  difference  in  the  "  times  "  of 
the  two  days  is  explained  by  the  change  in  weather, — a 
breeze,  occasionally  amounting  to  a  light  gale,  blowing 
throughout  the  second  day's  race.     In  1866,  July  27,  the 
Lawrence    Scientifics    of  Harvard   beat   the    Sheffield 
Scientifics  of  Yale,  19:38  to  18:54.     The  Harvard  crew 
in   this  race  were   notably  larger,  older,   and  in  every 
way  better  men  than  those  in  the  Yale  boat.     The  dif 
ferent  characters  of  the  two  schools  would  account  for 
this,  the  Lawrence  being  largely  made  up  of  academical 
graduates,  while  the  Sheffield  is  more  on  a  parallel  with 
the    academical   department,  and,  though   stronger   in 
point  of  numbers,  is  far  weaker  in  the  graduate  element. 
In  1867,  July  19,  the  Yale  Freshmen  ('70)  beat  those  of 
Harvard,  19:38  to  20:6.     The  stake  was  turned  in  23 
seconds.     Harvard  claimed  a  foul  on  the  way  out,  and 
Yale  a  foul  at  the  stake,  but  both  were  disregarded  by 
the  judges.     Six  silver  goblets,  valued  at  $150,  were 
awarded  the  winning  crew,  by  the  mayor  of  Worcester, 
in  behalf  of  the  citizens,  and  William  Blaikie  of  Harvard 
presented   the   champion   flags.     Next  year   the  Yale 
Sophomores  ('70)  refused  a  challenge  from  Harvard,  as 
did  also  the  Freshmen  ('71),  and  so  nothing  occurred  but 
the  regular  fifth  University  race.     In  1869,  July  23,  the 
Harvard  Freshmen  ('72)  beat  those  of  Yale,  \^\^A   to 
19:30.     One  of  the  latter  crew  had  belonged  to  it  but 
a  week,  and  another  was  sick  when  the  race  was  pulled. 
In  1870,  June  22,  at  Lake  Saltonstall,  the  Yale  Scientif 
ics  (two  of  whose  crew  had  pulled  in  the  race  of  1866) 
beat  the  Harvard   Scientifics,  20:10  to  22:33}^,  —  the 
latter  crew  being  badly  demoralized  by  hard  travel  and 


378  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

want  of  sleep.  July  22,  the  Yale  Freshmen  ('73)  beat 
those  of  Harvard,  19:45  to  20,  though  the  Freshmen 
from  Brown  won  the  flags,  in  19:21.  In  review  of  what 
has  been  said,  it  seems  that,  aside  from  the  seven  regu 
lar  University  trials,  1864-70,  Yale  has  won  but  2  of  5 
general  races  with  Harvard,  and  only  3  of  10  special 
or  class  races, — the  first  regatta  of  1852  being  included 
in  this  latter  category.  Of  the  5  general  races,  only  3 
were  for  the  championship,  and  these  were  won  by 
Harvard. 

And  now,  at  last,  for  the  "  second  period  "  proper,  com 
prising  the  seven  annual  University  races.  Not  being 
allowed  in  term-time,  they  have  always  been  rowed  in 
the  month  of  July,  on  Friday,  the  day  after  the  Yale 
Commencement,  which  follows  that  of  Harvard  by  an 
interval  of  two  or  three  weeks.  The  "  Seniors  "  of  the 
Yale  crew  are  therefore  in  reality  "  graduates  "  of  24 
hours'  standing,  and  those  of  Harvard,  of  a  more  appre 
ciable  length  of  time,  but  both  are  still  held  to  be  "  un 
dergraduates  "  within  the  meaning  of  the  regatta  regu 
lations.  The  Yale  crew  go  up  to  the  Lake  a  little  less 
than  a  week  before  the  race,  or  as  soon  as  the  under 
class  members  have  completed  their  examinations  : 
while  the  Harvards,  having  finished  their  college  duties 
earlier,  can  and  usually  do  take  their  places  there  in 
advance  of  them.  Boat  houses  are  in  readiness  to 
receive  their  frail  shells, — 6-oared  and  without  cox 
swains, — and  quarters  at  some  quiet  farm-house,  near 
the  water,  are  secured  for  the  men  themselves.  Prac 
tice  pulls,  under  the  direction  of  their  trainers,  are 
taken  two  or  three  times  a  day,  but  no  races  are  entered 
into  save  those  "  against  Time  "  simply.  The  "  champion 
flags  "  are  made  of  silk  and  cost  about  $60,  of  which 
sum  each  college  advances  half, — though  recently  the 
citizens  of  Worcester  have  defrayed  the  expenses  of 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  379 

the  flags.  One  is  blue,  having  the  gilt  inscriptions : 
"  College  Regatta,  Champion,  University,  Worcester, 
July, — ,  1 8 —  "  ;  the  other  is  an  American  ensign,  upon 
the  six  white  stripes  of  which  the  names  of  the  six  vic 
torious  oarsmen  are  afterwards  inscribed.  The  flags 
won  by  Yale  are  preserved  in  the  Art  Building,  in  the 
little  room  which  opens  out  of  the  south  gallery  and 
surmounts  the  chapel-street  entrance, — though  until 
1870  they  were  kept  in  the  room  of  the  Commodore. 
The  flags  won  by  Harvard  are  preserved  in  an  alcove  of 
the  Library.  A  partisan  of  the  vanquished  crew  pre 
sents  the  flags  to  the  victors,  but  the  same  colors  never 
do  duty  twice,  as  is  the  case  in  the  Yale  Navy  races. 
The  course  is  3  miles,  around  a  stake-boat,  which  must 
be  turned  to  the  right,  i  )4  miles  up  the  Lake,  at  which 
point  are  stationed  a  boat-load  of  representatives  of 
both  colleges,  and  of  the  press,  and  one  judge  for  each 
college.  The  chief  judge  from  each  college,  together 
with  the  referee  or  umpire,  occupy  a  boat  at  the  start 
ing  point.  The  judges  are  graduates  of  the  colleges 
they  represent  and  are  usually  members  of  former  Uni 
versity  crews,  but  the  referee  is  apt  to  be  a  professional 
or  amateur  oarsman,  belonging  to  neither  college.  Posi 
tions  of  the  boats  are  dravva  by  lot,  and  the  "  go  "  is 
usually  given  by  a  pistol-shot,  after  the  warning,  "  Are 
you  ready  ?  "  Another  shot  is  also  fired  as  each  boat 
crosses  the  line  on  the  return.  Perhaps  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  causeway  near  which  the  boats  start  is 
"  Regatta  Point,"  whereon  raised  seats  are  erected, — 
sometimes  with  a  protecting  roof  of  canvas, — not  unlike, 
though  less  elaborate  than,  the  "  grand  stand "  of  a 
racing  park.  Here  also,  upon  a  platform,  built  out  into 
the  water,  a  brass  band  discourses  music  in  the  inter 
vals  of  waiting.  For  admission  to  the  Point  a  quarter- 
dollar  fee  was  formerly  required,  and  for  a  like  addi. 


380  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

tional  sum  a  "  reserved  seat "  was  also  promised.  But 
the  promise  was  never  kept,  and  latterly  the  single 
entrance  ticket  costs  a  half-dollar,  and  the  buyer  thereof 
runs  his  own  chance  of  gaining  a  seat, — as  in  reality  he 
always  did. 

Both  the  shores  are  lined  with  spectators,  for  half  the 
distance  to  the  stake-boat,  and  the  causeway  is  fairly 
black  with  the  dense  mass  of  human  heads,  while  a  lit 
tle  steamer  and  innumerable  smaller  craft  of  every  vari 
ety  ply  about  the  Lake  in  the  times  between  the  races. 
But  "  Regatta  Point  "  is  the  real  headquarters.  Here 
are  assembled  "  the  wealth  and  fashion  and  beauty"  of 
the  city.  Here  are  crowded  the  largest  groups  of  col 
legians.  Here  the  "  start "  can  be  best  witnessed. 
Here  the  chances  of  the  "  home  stretch  "  can  be  earliest 
made  out.  Here  arise  those  deafening  yells  of  "  Yale  ! 
Yale!"  "  'Arvad  !  'Arvad!"  "  'Roh  !  'roh  !  'roh  !  " 
"  'Rah  !  'rah  !  'rah  !  "  as  the  boats  fly  past.  Here  occur 
those  insane  hand-shakings,  and  embracings  and  fantas 
tic  gyrations  of  the  men  whose  college  has  triumphed. 
And  here,  after  taking  their  champion  colors  at  the 
judges'  stand,  the  victors  row  up  to  receive  from  the 
mayor  the  prizes  offered  by  the  citizens,  and  the  plau 
dits  and  congratulations  of  the  multitude.  The  attend 
ance,  according  to  newspaper  accounts,  varies  from 
15,000  to  25,000  people,  though  it  is  probable  that  the 
former  number  has  never  been  much  exceeded.  Long, 
heavily-loaded  trains  of  steam-cars  run  hourly  'from  the 
city  to  the  "  Lake  station,"  which  is,  perhaps,  something 
more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  Point,  and  the  common 
highway  is  taken  up  with  an  endless  procession  of  car 
riages  and  pedestrians,  hastening  to  the  race.  Every 
imaginable  vehicle  is  pressed  into  the  service,  and  the 
prices  demanded  by  the  honest  hackmen  are  something 
incredible.  In  the  city,  hotels  and  restaurants  are 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  3s  J 

crowded  to  suffocation,  and  the  misfortunes  of  those 
who  are  excluded  from  them  are  only  exceeded  by  the 
misfortunes  of  those  who  gain  admission. 

Previous  to  1866,  as  has  been  intimated,  "  the  races" 
were  extended  over  two  days.  First  came  the  regular 
college  regatta,  and  next  day  the  "  citizens'  regatta"  in 
which  the  college  boats  were  invited  to  take  part.  The 
night  between  these  two  days  .was  devoted  to  lawlessness 
and  uproar.  Beginning  with  the  year  mentioned,  all  the 
races  were  confined  to  a  single  day.  First  come  those 
between  citizen  or  professional  oarsmen,  then  those  be 
tween  college  classes  or  departments,  and  finally  the 
great  University  race  itself.  This  usually  happens  about 
4.30  or  5  o'clock,  in  season  to  allow  a  few  of  the  most 
active  to  get  away  on  the  early  evening  trains.  The 
great  body  of  the  college  men,  however,  leave  the  city 
on  the  night  expresses,  between  10  and  n  o'clock, 
though  many  remain  until  the  following  day.  The  prac 
tice  of  staying  behind  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  "  mak 
ing  a  night  of  it"  has  gradually  become  obsolete  ;  Yale, 
of  late  years,  having  had  little  cause  for  rejoicing,  and 
grown  too  sullenly  sorrowful  under  defeat  to  seek  relief 
in  the  flowing  bowl.  Now-a-days,  after  the  race  is  over, 
and  the  Yale  men  have  obtained  a  supper  of  some  sort, 
they  moodily  hang  about  the  corridors  of  the  Bay  State 
House — the  only  hotel  in  the  city,  and  a  very  poor  one 
— listening  to  the  exultant  chattering  of  the  victors,  until 
the  approach  of  train-time,  when,  with  a  gloomy  resolve 
u  never  to  come  to  another  race,"  they  silently  steal 
away.  The  defeat  of  five  years  ago,  was  met  with  a  far 
different  spirit :  "  That  night  the  vestibule  of  the  Bay 
State  was  even  more  densely  crowded,  this  time  by  a 
weary  throng,  but  disappointment  did  not  keep  the  Yale 
men  quiet.  They  hurrahed  again  and  again  for  our 
Stroke  ! — for  our  Bow  ! — for  our  Port  Bow  ! — for  our 


3^2  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Starboard  Waist ! — for  our  Port  Waist ! — for  our  Fresh 
man  Class  ! — and  for  everything  under  the  sun  connected 
with  Yale.  In  the  singing,  the  glee  club,  many  mem 
bers  of  which  were  present,  far  surpassed  all  tuneful 
attempts  of  Harvard.  The  latter  called  often  for  the 
'  bag  pipes,'  which  was  given  with  great  spirit.  The  night 
trains  bore  away  a  large  part  of  the  student  element, 
but  enough  remained  to  *  shake  up'  (as  one  expressed  it) 
'  a  rousing  old  drunk.'  The  scene  of  the  festivities  was 
the  hotel  dining  room,  where  all  night  long  discord 
reigned  supreme,  and  '  the  rosy'  was  mixed  in  quantities 
that  would  have  set  jolly  Dick  Swiveller  in  ecstacies. 
Whippers-in  were  sent  out  to  bring  in  every  man,  red 
and  blue  ;  sentries  were  placed  at  the  doors  and  win 
dows  to  prevent  any  from  escaping,  and  then  all  got 
comfortably  '  tight'  and  broke  the  crockery,  winding  up 
with  a  dance  on  the  tables.  A  few  restless  spirits 
amused  themselves  by  going  up  stairs  to  throw  bottles 
through  the  sky-light,  or  down  stairs  to  sack  the  wine 
closets.  In  the  morning  the  various  headaches  and 
sleepless  eyes,  after  paying  a  bill  of  $400  for  the  even 
ing's  sport,  dispersed  to  their  several  homes." 

Another  amusement  of  the  "  restless  spirits"  was  the 
smashing  of  the  furniture  and  windows  of  their  rooms, 
by  way  of  indemnification  for  the  miserable  accommo 
dations  and  exorbitant  prices  of  the  hotel.  For  some 
years,  Worcester,  through  fear  of  losing  the  patronage 
of  the  dear  students,  let  the  rowdies  among  them  have 
their  own  way,  but  latterly  extra  police  have  been  im 
ported  from  other  cities, — to  supersede  the  "  special'' 
ones  formerly  improvised  for  the  occasion,  whose  motley, 
guerrilla-like  appearance,  and  general  helplessness,  used 
to  excite  the  derision  of  all, — and  these  have  preserved 
order  on  Regatta  Day,  and  night.  A  few  years  ago, 
the  agent  of  the  associated  press  invented  and  tele- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  383 

graphed  all  over  the  country  the  story  that  a  collegian 
had  been  arrested  and  fined  in  the  police  court  for  un 
shipping  a  watch-sign  in  front  of  a  jeweler's  window, 
which  story  was  improved  upon  by  the  editors  so  as  to 
represent  the  unfortunate  youth  as  "  the  purloiner  of  a 
gold-watch,  valued  at  $150."  Every  year  similar  lies 
and  exaggerations  appear  in  the  published  accounts  of 
the  race,  and  as  most  of  these  have  to  be  "  written  up" 
beforehand,  their  blunders  and  misstatements  are  often 
ludicrous  in  the  extreme,  to  one  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  actual  facts.  From  his  knowledge  of  what  happened 
last  year,  "  our  special  correspondent"  makes  a  shrewd 
guess  of  what  will  be  likely  to  happen  this  year,  and 
writes  out  his  surmises  as  something  which  has  actually 
taken  place.  Sometimes  he  guesses  right ;  oftener  he 
falls  into  error. 

"Blue"  is  the  color  of  Yale,  "red"  that  of  Harvard, 
and  every  human  being  in  Worcester  "  shows"  one  of 
them  on  Regatta  Day, — the  latter  being  the  predomi 
nant  one  among  the  citizens,  though  the  hackmen,  boot 
blacks,  and  other  public  officers  announce  their  impar 
tiality  by  affecting  both.  Strips  of  ribbon  at  the  button 
hole,  hat-bands,  flaunting  neck-ties,  badges  impressed 
with  the  college  name  or  monogram  in  gold  or  silver,  all 
serve  to  announce  the  connections  or  sympathies  of  the 
wearer, — blue  or  red.  The  ladies,  too,  in  numberless 
ways,  likewise  display  their  colors  ;  and  even  the  execra 
bly  printed  cards,  on  which  are  incorrectly  indicated 
the  names  and  statistics  of  the  oarsmen,  are  stained 
with  the  partisan  pigments, — "  And  you  can  take  your 
choice  for  five  cents,"  shout  the  hawkers  of  them.  Most 
of  the  other  ^colleges  have  patterned  after  the  leading 
two  in  adopting  distinctive  "  colors," — the  "  brown"  of 
Brown  University  being  the  happiest  choice  of  any, — 
and  their  representatives  often  display  them  at  the  race, 


384  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

sometimes  in  connection  with  the  blue  or  red.  The 
Brunonians  usually  sympathize  with  Harvard,  the  Colum 
bians  with  Yale,  though  neither  these  nor  other  outside 
colleges  are  largely  represented,  save  in  the  event  of  a 
ball-match  in  which  they  have  taken  part.  The  mem 
bers  of  a  victorious  ball-club  display,  in  connection  with 
their  own,  the  badges  of  the  college  they  have  van 
quished.  The  comparative  crowds  which  Yale  and 
Harvard  send  up  to  witness  the  race  vary  somewhat  in 
different  years,  but  the  latter  has  usually  the  largest  rep 
resentation.  Time  is  in  favor  of  Yale — though  three- 
fourths  the  undergraduates  finish  work  a  week  before 
the  race — but  locality  is  in  favor  of  its  rival.  Lying  less 
than  50  miles  from  Boston, — within  a  loo-mile  radius  of 
which  a  large  part  of  the  Harvard  men,  graduates  and 
undergraduates,  reside, — the  Lake  can  be  visited  by 
them  without  any  great  loss  of  time.  But  to  the  Yale 
graduate  in  New  York,  almost  200  miles  away,  it  means 
a  two  days'  pilgrimage  ;  and  to  the  undergraduate,  a 
week  wasted  from  vacation,  and  an  unusually  tiresome 
journey  to  a  distant  home.  The  prospect  of  victory  of 
course  largely  affects  the  attendance.  Unusually  large 
crowds  went  up  from  Yale  in  1866,  and  again  in  1869, 
on  both  of  which  occasions,  Harvard,  expecting  to  be 
vanquished,  sent  few  representatives.  In  1868,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Yale  attendance  was  very  slim  indeed, 
and  the  Harvard  unusually  large.  But  there  are  always 
enough  at  the  annual  race  to  make  the  sight  at  the  Lake 
an  enlivening  one,  whose  counterpart  can  be  found  no 
where  else  in  America. 

On  the  night  preceding  the  race,  there  is  a  "  citizens' 
ball  "  in  one  of  the  large  public  halls  of  the  town,  in 
which  the  students  to  some  extent  take  part,  though  less 
now  than  formerly  when  it  was  held  on  the  night 
between  the  two  racing  days.  The  college  colors  are 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  385 

liberally  and  often  tastefully  displayed  in  the  costumes 
of  the  lady  dancers.  Except  in  the  event  of  a  base-ball 
trial,  which  takes  place  the  afternoon  before  or  the 
morning  of  the  race,  Yale  men,  at  least,  do  not  of  late 
usually  go  to  the  city  until  within  a  few  hours  of  the 
time  when  the  latter  is  rowed.  The  midnight  and 
morning  trains  after  Commencement  Day  bring  to  the 
scene  the  larger  part  of  those  who  come  directly  from 
New  Haven.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  betting,  both 
among  the  collegians,  the  general  spectators,  and  the 
professional  gamblers,  who  assemble  at  the  races  and 
ball-matches, — a  college  contest  being  about  the  only 
thing  of  the  sort  in  whose  sincerity  the  public  place 
confidence,  in  other  words,  which  they  believe  cannot 
be  "  bought."  Here  as  elsewhere,  "  pool-selling  "  is  the 
favorite  mode  of  gambling  among  the  professionals,  but 
students  make  none  but "  square  bets  "  with  one  another, 
"  in  support  of  "  their  respective  colleges.  Odds  are 
usually  offered  one  side  or  the  other,  and  the  course  of 
betting  is  a  pretty  fair  index  of  public  sentiment  as 
regards  the  chances  of  the  respective  crews.  Bets  as 
to  "time,"  absolute  or  comparative,  are  also  sometimes 
in  favor.  In  1866,  Harvard  could  not  be  induced  to 
bet,  and  the  same  to  some  extent  was  true  in  1869, 
while  in  the  years  between,  Yale  was  equally  loth  to 
risk  anything.  It  is  only  when  the  betting  is  about 
even  that  much  money  changes  hands,  at  least  among 
the  students,  and  it  is  rarely  that  one  of  them  stakes  as 
much  as  $100.  In  1864,  however,  a  confident  Yale 
man,  who  accepted  every  bet  offered  him,  is  said  to  have 
won  $5000. 

The  dress  of  each  crew  at  the  time  of  the  race  con 
sists  of  drawers  and  sleeveless  shirt.  Red  silk  hand 
kerchiefs  are  worn  about  the  head  by  the  Harvard  men, 
and  blue  ones  sometimes  by  those  of  Yale,  though  they 

18 


386  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

oftener  go  bareheaded.  As  the  former  practise  with 
the  upper  part  of  the  body  naked,  their  finely  sun- 
browned  arms  give  them  a  hardier  appearance  than 
their  paler  skinned  rivals,  though  the  latter  are  almost 
always  older  and  heavier  men.  At  Worcester  the  Cam 
bridge  crew  are  almost *" always  spoken  of  as  "the  Har- 
vards  "  ;  but  "  the  Yales  "  is  a  term  less  often  employed 
to  designate  their  antagonists.  From  1867  onwards, 
handsome  gold  medals,  costing  $50  each,  have  been 
given  to  every  member  of  the  winning  crew,  by  the  citi 
zens  of  Worcester.  The  face  of  the  medal  is  die  cut 
and  represents  a  race-crew  pulling.  "  Lake  Quinsiga- 
mond,  Worcester,"  is  the  inscription,  to  which  perhaps 
the  date  of  the  race  is  afterwards  added.  The  reverse, 
in  relief,  displays  a  crown  and  laurel  wreath,  surround 
ing  a  space  upon  which  the  name  of  the  winner  is  after 
wards  engraved.  Similar  medals,  struck  in  silver,  were 
also  given  to  the  winning  freshman  crews  of  1869  and 
1870,  and  silver  goblets  had  been  presented  to  them  in 
previous  years.  According  to  custom,  the  defeated 
party  of  one  year  may  next  year  challenge  the  victor, 
and  the  latter  may  then  name  the  locality  of  the  race, 
which  must  of  course  be  on  neutral  waters.  Ever  since 
1866  it  has  been  the  general  belief  that  Yale  would 
exchange  Worcester  for  Springfield,  should  it  ever  win 
the  opportunity  to  choose.  As  it  is,  Harvard  has  been 
urged  once  or  twice  by  its  rival  to  make  the  change,  but 
has  steadily  refused  to  do  so.  In  April,  1870,  delegates 
from  the  Harvard  crew  joined  with  some  Yale  represent 
atives,  at  their  urgent  request,  in  inspecting  the  courses 
at  Providence  and  New  London.  The  latter  locality 
was  specially  favored  by  Yale,  on  account  of  its  offer 
ing  a  chance  for  a  "  straight-away  "  race,  without  any 
turning  of  stake-boats.  But  Harvard  would  not  con 
sent  to  row  there.  Yale's  trainers,  or  "  coaches  "  as 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  387 

the  English  call  them,  have  been  professional  characters 
from  New  York  City :  William  Wood,  for  the  four  years 
1864-67;  Dennis  Leary,  who  "coached"  the  winning 
'70  freshman  crew,  in  1868  ;  Joshua  Ward,  in  1869  ;  and 
Walter  Brown,  in  1870.  In  1867,  Wood  came  to  town 
at  a  rather  late  day,  took  little  interest  in  the  crew,  and 
after  inducing  them  to  buy  a  shell  of  Laeton  (who,  it 
was  afterwards  reported,  never  made  a  6-oared  boat 
before),  went  back  to  the  city  and  stayed  there.  The 
shell  proved  to  be  utterly  worthless,  and  the  one  built 
by  McKay  to  take  its  place  was  only  received  a  week 
before  the  final  race.  In  view  of  these  facts,  Wood's 
habit  of  advertising  himself  as  "  trainer  of  the  winning 
Yale  crews  of  1864-65"  is  very  gratifying  to  the  feel 
ings  of  Yale  men.  For  the  three  years  1866-68,  a 
drizzling  shower  of  rain  came  with  or  just  at  the  close 
of  the  University  race ;  the  weather  of  the  other  four 
years  has  been  pleasant. 

Before  giving  the  exact  statistics  of  the  seven  races, 
it  is  necessary  to  mention  the  outrageous  and  only  too 
successful  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  deprive  of 
their  fairly-won  laurels  the  Yale  crews  of  1865  and  1870, 
and  the  complications  which  have  resulted  from  this 
last  exhibition  of  foul  play  on  the  part  of  Harvard.  At 
the  close  of  the  race  of  1865,  tne  umpires  announced 
the  figures  of  their  timekeepers  to  be,  17:42^  for  Yale, 
18:9  for  Harvard,  and  no  objection  was  made  by  the 
referee,  Joshua  Ward.  Accordingly,  judges,  time  keepers 
and  reporters  separated,  and  the  official  announcement 
was  of  course  accepted  by  every  one.  But  the  associated 
press  despatch,  and  the  Boston  papers  of  the  following 
day,  set  the  time  a  minute  later  in  each  case, — 18:42^' 
for  Yale,  19:9  for  Harvard, — and  so  much  confusion 
was  there  in  making  the  change,  that  while  all  the  papers 
announced  Yale  as  the  victor,  some  set  the  figures  as 


388  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

18:423^  to  18:9,  and  others  as  17:42^  to  19:9!  The 
explanation  of  the  fraud  was  this  :  When  the  excitement 
of  the  race  was  over,  and  sober  second  thought  had  dis 
closed  the  fact  that  the  Yale  crew  had  not  only  beaten 
by  70  seconds  the  best  time  ever  made  by  the  "  invincible 
Harvards  "  (18:53,  in  1860) ;  but  had  bettered  by  almost 
a  minute  the  "  unprecedented "  time  of  the  Ward 
brothers  (18:37,  in  1860);  that  it  was  in  short  the  best 
6-oared  crew  ever  known  of  in  America  or  the  world  ; — 
the  cry  was  raised  of  "  Impossible  !  It  can't  be  so  !  A 
mistake  somewhere  !  "  and  so  on.  Next  day  the  referee 
— not  caring  to  have  the  "  Gersh  Banker's  "  "  unprece 
dented  "  time  wiped  out  of  sight  by  these  college  boys — 
after  "  hearing  all  the  arguments "  decided  that  the 
"  true  time "  of  the  boats  was  a  minute  later  than 
officially  announced  with  his  sanction  the  clay  before  : 
this,  too,  though  both  the  judges  clung  to  their  first  de 
cision.  With  the  Harvard  men  in  control  of  the  Boston 
papers,  and  the  "professionals"  in  control  of  the  sport 
ing  press,  this  decision — "  18:42)^  to  19:9  " — was  thrust 
upon  the  country  ;  and  so  persistently  has  it  since  been 
enforced  by  Harvard  men,  in  every  way,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  that  almost  every  one  has  come  to 
accept  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  Even  the  generation  of 
Yale  undergraduates  who  have  grown  up  since  then,  by 
hearing  the  true  figures  spoken  of  constantly  as  a 
"  ridiculous  pretension,"  have  gradually  grown  to  distrust 
them,  and  accept  the  false  ones ;  while  at  Harvard  the 
latter  have  come  to  be  honestly  believed  in  by  everyone. 
From  the  first,  the  fraud  has  been  carried  simply  by 
persistent  "  pressure,"  for  not  the  slightest  real  proof 
has  ever  been  advanced  against  the  validity  of  the 
officially-announced  figures.  The  alleged  "  impossi 
bility  "  of  the  boat  making  the  time  was  the  strongest 
argument  ever  offered  to  controvert  the  fact  that  it  did 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  389 

make  it.  When,  however,  in  1868,  the  Harvard  crew 
came  within  six  seconds  of  doing  as  well,  and  the  Wards 
did  even  better  by  2  seconds,  this  plea  lost  its  plausi 
bility.  Influenced  by  this,  ancf  the  growing  skepticism 
concerning  the  matter,  Commodore  W7ilbur  Bacon  of 
'65  took  the  trouble  to  obtain  official  statements  from 
the  referee  and  sworn  affidavits  from  well-known,  reliable 
witnesses  of  the  race,  and  publish  them  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  to  Wilkes 's  Spirit  of  the  Times  (copied  in  the 
College  Courant,  Dec.  12,  1868,  page  348),  which  letter 
proves  most  conclusively,  what  every  fair-minded  man 
at  the  race  knows  was  true,  that  the  time  made  by  the 
Yale  boat  was  really  17:42}^  and  no  more.  To  this 
letter,  which  of  course  cannot  be  quoted  here,  it  is  hoped 
that  every  Yale  man  at  least  will  refer,  if  he  has  any 
doubts  that  his  college  has  produced  the  best  6-oared 
amateur  crew  that  the  country  has  yet  known  of,  or  that 
Harvard  in  denying  the  fact  has  been  guilty  of  a  dis 
honor  that  a  dozen  successive  victories  cannot  atone 
for. 

In  the  race  of  July  22,  1870,  Yale  came  in  in  i8m. 
45  s.,  followed  by  Harvard  in  20  m.  30  s. ;  but  the  referee 
gave  the  flags  to  Harvard  on  a  claim  of  foul  at  the 
stake-boat,  after  refusing  to  hear  the  evidence  by  which 
Yale  offered  to  prove  a  foul  against  Harvard  before 
the  stake-boat  was  reached.  Though  Yale  believed  the 
decision  of  the  stake-boat  foul  to  be  entirely  unjust,  it 
took  as  a  technical  cause  of  grievance  this  refusal  of  the 
referee  to  give  it  a  chance  to  prove  a  previous  foul 
against  Harvard, — which,  if  proved,  would  have  given 
it  the  race,  no  matter  what  happened  at  the  stake-boat, 
— and  so  challenged  Harvard  for  a  new  trial  on  the 
following  day,  which  challenge  was  refused.  The  facts 
of  the  race,  and  the  theory  of  Harvard's  action  therein, 
are  unanimously  believed  by  Yale  men  to  be  as  follows  : 


39°  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Harvard,  having  the  inside,  with  its  usual  opening 
spurt  leaped  a  little  ahead  of  Yale,  but  when  both  boats 
were  about  half-way  up  the  Lake,  and  the  gap  between 
them  was  fast  closing,  the  former  steered  across  the 
latter's  course,  when  the  Yale  boat,  rather  than  run 
down  its  rival,  as  it  had  a  perfect  right  to  do,  allowed 
itself  to  lose  time  by  being  driven  in  towards  the  shore. 
Spite  of  this  delay,  Harvard  reached  the  stake  less  than 
a  boat's  length  ahead,  and  in  veering  out  to  make  a 
long  turn  and  head  off  Yale,  bumped  its  stern  against 
the  stake,  with  sufficient  force  to  break  its  wires  and  un 
ship  its  rudder,  and  almost  grazed  upon  the -Yale  bow. 
Yale  at  first  held  back,  then  started  on  again  to  make 
the  turn  ;  Harvard  meanwhile,  having  half  completed 
the  long  turn,  holding  itself  for  several  seconds  at  right 
angles  to  the  course  up  the  Lake  and  directly  in  the  way 
of  Yale,  in  order  to  recover  from  the  exhaustion  of 
repeated  spurting,  and  get  breath  for  the  home  pull. 
Under  such  circumstances,  had  Yale  run  it  down,  it  is  a 
question  whether  the  foul  should  not  have  been  ruled 
justifiable ;  but  nothing  of  the  sort  really  happened,  for 
though — spite  of  the  asseverations  to  the  contrary  of 
several  eye-witnesses — Yale's  bow  did  for  a  moment 
glide  over  Harvard's  stern,  the  latter  boat  was  not 
injured  at  all  by  the  shock,  for  in  an  instant  after,  it  had 
completed  the  turn  and  was  shooting  off  down  the  lake 
again,  and  its  captain's  cry  of  "  Now  we  have  'em, 
boys !"  shows  that  there  was  then  no  idea  of  fouling,  or 
disablement,  or  defeat,  entertained  by  the  leading  crew. 
But  when  the  Yale  men,  at  last  completing  their  short 
turn  and  grazing  the  stake  in  doing  it,  swept  past  them, 
and  Harvard  saw  that  the  game  was  hopelessly  lost, 
the  advice  shrieked  by  their  judge  at  the  stake-boat, 
that  they  should  cease  rowing  because  theV  shell  had 
been  maliciously  fouled  and  disabled  by  Yale,  seemed 


THE    STUDENT  LIFE.  39 1 

worth  adopting,  as  an  excuse  for  unexpected  disaster ; 
and  so,  with  a  great  display  of  dragging  rudder  and 
broken  wires,  they  leisurely  pulled  after  the  victors,  put 
in  their  claim  for  a  foul,  and  insisted  that  the  flags 
should  be  at  once  awarded  them,  even  before  the  stake- 
boat  judges  had  given  in  their  testimony.  When  this 
had  all  been  rendered  in  support  of  their  claim, — the 
Yale  judge  at  the  stake  being  prevented  by  indisposition 
from  stating  his  side  of  the  case,  —  the  demand  was 
repeated  even  more  fiercely  that  Harvard  should  be 
proclaimed  the  victor,  and  nothing  but  the  most  earnest 
protestations  on  the  part  of  the  Yale  judge  at  the  start, 
prevented  the  referee  from  complying, — without  even 
the  form  of  a  hearing  for  Yale's  claim  of  a  prior  foul 
against  Harvard.  This  hearing  was  at  last  grudgingly 
granted,  and  the  Bay  State  House  and  8  o'clock  were 
appointed  as  the  place  and  time  for  holding  it.  To 
appreciate  what  happened  there,  it  is  necessary  to  com 
prehend  the  facts  of  the  freshman  race,  which  preceded 
the  university  contest. 

In  June,  1870,  the  Yale  freshman  boat  club  ('73), 
challenged  the  corresponding  club  of  Harvard  to  a 
6-oared  contest  for  the  freshman  championship  of  the 
two  colleges,  at  the  time  and  place,  and  under  the  usual 
regulations,  of  the  University  race  ;  and  the  challenge 
was  in  due  form  accepted.  No  intimations  were  given 
that  any  other  crews  would  be  allowed  to  enter  the  race, 
and  the  challenges  of  the  freshman  sixes  of  Amherst 
and  Brown  were  rejected  by  Yale  as  a  matter  of  course  ; 
but,  nevertheless,  under  the  encouragement  of  Harvard, 
the  two  new  colleges  sent  their  freshmen  boats  to  Wor 
cester.  Their  captains  then  called  upon  the  Yale  cap 
tain,  formally  offered  their  challenges  again,  and  endeav 
ored  to  pursuade  the  Yale  crew  to  reconsider  their 
determination.  They  even  advanced  the  idea  that,  as 


392  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Harvard  had  won  the  freshman  ('72)  race  of  the  year 
before,  the  outside  colleges  had  understood  its  present 
representatives  ('73)  to  have  entire  charge  of  the  matter, 
even  to  allowing  them  to  participate  in  the  race,  in  spite 
of  Yale's  veto  !  The  Yale  Freshmen,  on  their  part, 
stated  that  they  simply  desired  to  win  the  championship 
from  Harvard,  and  that  if  they  succeeded  in  this,  they 
were  willing  to  row  against  their  rivals  from  Amherst  and 
Brown,  either  on  Saturday  or  Monday,  and  would  place 
the  flags  and  medals  for  their  competition  in  this  subse 
quent  race.  But  the  terms  were  not  accepted  (perhaps 
because  the  holding  of  the  race  on  a  subsequent  day 
would  allow  the  Yale  Freshmen  to  better  their  chances 
by  recalling  the  two  members  of  their  crew  who,  a  fort 
night  before,  had  been  taken  away  from  it  and  placed  in 
the  University  boat),  and  when,  on  the  very  day  before 
the  race,  the  Yale  and  Harvard  crews  met  together  for 
perfecting  the  final  arrangements,  the  latter — in  direct 
disregard  of  its  definite  acceptance  of  a  definite  chal 
lenge — declared,  in  so  many  words,  that  it  would  not 
row  the  race  unless  the  two  new  colleges  were  allowed 
to  enter  it.  "  Yale,  being  thus  pressed  to  the  wall, — and 
seeing  that  its  further  refusal  would  at  once  be  used  to 
place  it  before  the  public  in  a  false  light,  as  the  breaker- 
up  of  the  race,  the  despiser  of  small  colleges,  and  so 
forth, — at  last  gave  its  angry  consent  to  the  innovation. 
Then  the  arrangements  were  decided  upon,  and  of  course 
in  making  them  Harvard  had  its  own  way  in  everything, 
since  the  other  two  colleges  naturally  sided  with  the 
one  which  had  befriended  them  ;  and  so  Yale  was  thence 
forth  at  their  mercy.  It  wanted  two  turning  stakes  (a 
thing  desirable,  even  were  there  only  two  crews  in  the 
contest),  but  Harvard  said,  No,  the  four  boats  must  all 
turn  about  a  single  stake  ;  and  so  on  for  the  rest  of  Yale's 
suggestions.  In  this  pleasant  frame  of  mind  the  four 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  393 

crews  entered  upon  the  race.  The  result  is  well  known  : 
Amherst  and  Brown  started  up  the  left  side  of  the  lake 
together,  Yale  and  Harvard  the  right  side;  Amherst  being 
nearest  the  left  shore,  Harvard  nearest  the  right.  At  a 
distance  of  perhaps  half  a  mile  from  the  start,  the  Amherst 
boat  veered  to  the  right  and  was  fouled  and  disabled  by 
the  Brown,  which  proceeded  on  its  way  to  the  stake,  just 
as  the  Yale  was  making  a  long  turn  around  it,  with  Har 
vard  not  far  behind.  Brown,  by  making  a  skilful  short 
turn  inside  of  Yale  then  got  the  start,  and  came  in  first 
in  19:21,  followed  by  Yale  in  19:45,  and  by  Harvard  in 
20.  On  reaching  the  judges'  boat,  Yale  at  once  put  in 
a  claim  of  foul  against  Harvard,  to  which  Harvard 
shortly  afterwards  added  the  claim  of  a  foul  against 
Yale,  which  latter  claim  was  disallowed  by  the  judges. 
Amherst  and  Brown  likewise  laid  claims  of  foul  against 
each  other,  which  were  ultimately  and  rightfully  decided 
in  favor  of  the  latter,  under  the  rule  forbidding  one 
boat  to  cross  the  straight  course  of  another.  Had  the 
decision  been  in  favor  of  Amherst,  Yale,  which  came  in 
second,  would  have  received  the  flag." 

With  these  facts  concerning  the  freshman  race  borne 
in  mind,  the  farcical  character  of  the  "  hearing"  granted 
to  Yale  in  the  matter  of  the  alleged  foulings  by  Har 
vard,  may  be  appreciated.  When  this  "  hearing"  com 
menced,  in  a  room  in  the  Bay  State  House,  the  bow-oar 
of  the  freshman  crew  was  the  only  Yale  representative 
present ;  and  a  policeman  had  to  be  brushed  aside  and 
an  entrance  actually  forced  before  others  could  gain  ad 
mission  to  the  room.  It  was  ruled  that  none  but  the 
bow-oars  of  the  two  crews  should  give  any  testimony, 
and  the  "  evidence"  was  elicited  by  asking  the  Harvard 
representative  such  "  leading"  questions  as,  "  Did  n't  the 
Yale  boat  run  into  you  ? "  etc.  As  the  Yale  stake-boat 
judge  had  no  evidence  to  offer,  the  decision  of  the  point 

1 8* 


394  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

was  of  course  in  favor  of  Harvard  ;  but  when  the  Yale 
crew  attempted  to  prove  that  before  the  stake  was 
reached  Harvard  had  run  across  their  bow  and  driven 
them  from  their  course  (which  claim,  if  established, 
would  have  given  them  the  race),  the  referee,  to  quote 
the  word  of  his  own  published  "  card,"  "  refused  to  con 
sider  any  evidence  on  that,  because  I  [he]  thought  it  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  race"  !  This,  too,  in  face  of  the 
fact  that,  five  minutes  before,  he  had  given  the  freshman 
race  to  Brown,  oh  an  exactly  parallel  claim,  and  listened 
to  the  evidence  by  which  the  Harvard  Freshmen  unsuc 
cessfully  attempted  to  prove  a  foul  against  their  Yale 
antagonists!  In  other  words,  to  the  injury  and  injustice 
of  refusing  to  hear  the  evidence  in  support  of  a  claim — 
which,  however  absurd  in  itself,  Yale  had  at  least  a  right 
to  make  and  to  prove  if  it  could — he  added  the  down 
right  insult  of  contradicting  his  own  previous  rulings, 
which,  though  just  in  themselves,  had  tended  to  Yale's 
disadvantage  in  the  freshman  race  !  Nothing  then  re 
mained  for  Yale  but  to  challenge  its  rival  for  a  new  trial 
next  clay,  which  challenge  was  rejected  on  the  pretexts 
— afterwards  admitted  to  be  frivolous — that  the  crew 
had  broken  training  ;  that  one  of  them  must  leave  town 
that  night ;  and  that  they  did  n't  want  to  snub  the 
referee.  This  referee,  it  should  be  remarked,  was  a 
young  man  of  Worcester,  named  Edwin  Brown,  scarcely 
out  of  his  teens  in  the  matter  of  age,  who  was  either 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  boating,  or  was 
else  so  completely  under  Harvard  influence  as  to  be 
easily  bullied  into  disregarding  them.  That  he  was 
weak  rather  than  wicked,  in  making  his  unaccountable 
decisions,  seems  to  be  the  general  impression  of  the 
Worcester  citizens. 

Three  months  after  the  race — Yale,  meanwhile,  hav 
ing  for  the  most  part  borne  its  wrongs  in  quiet,  so  far  as 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  395 

the  public  prints  were  concerned — the  Harvard  Advocate, 
under  date  of  Oct.  14,  with  a  great  affectation  of  injured 
innocence,  published  a  series  of  insulting  charges 
against  Yale,  and  of  misrepresentations  of  its  share  in 
the  races.  In  reply  to  this,  the  College  Courant  of  Oct. 
29,  prepared  a  5-column  editorial,  entitled  "  Worcester 
Once  More,"  rehearsing  in  plain  terms  all  the  facts  and 
incidents  of  the  races,  and  turning  against  the  Harvard 
crew  the  very  words  advanced  by  the  Advocate  in  their  sup 
port.  This  account  was  accepted  by  Yale  men,  in  college 
and  out,  as  the  only  full  and  fair  printed  statement  of 
the  unfortunate  events  at  Worcester;  and  has  been 
freely  quoted  from  in  making  the  present  record.  A 
"  communication  "  in  reply  to  it  appeared  in  the  Advo 
cate  of  Nov.  n,  and  was  answered  by  a  Courant  edito 
rial,  "  Addenda  et  Corrigenda,"  Nov.  19,  which  drew 
out  a  second  " communication,"  Nov.  25,  and  a  third 
editorial,  "  Silence  gives  Consent,"  Dec.  3.  Editorially, 
the  Advocate  never  attempted  any  reply  to  the  damaging 
charges  of  the  article  of  Oct.  29,  but,  aside  from  these 
inconsequential  letters  of  its  correspondents,  confined 
itself  to  the  throwing  out  of  various  disconnected  slurs  and 
"  little  digs  "  against  Yale  and  Yale  institutions  ;  and 
though  its  original  utterances  of  Oct.  14  were  confess 
edly  made  in  reply  to  the  "  New  York  and  other  pa 
pers,"  it  excused  itself  from  attempting  to  answer  the 
reply  thereto,  on  the  ground  that  the  paper  in  which  it 
appeared  "  did  not  represent  Yale  undergraduates," 
and  was  not  a  "  recognized  Yale  organ."  So  much  for 
this  wordy  warfare  which  Harvard  invited,  and  in  which 
it  was  utterly  worsted.  But  the  matter  did  not  end 
there,  for  the  Harvard  Boat  Club,  Nov.  9,  passed  a  res 
olution  that  a  written  enquiry  be  made  of  the  Yale 
Navy  as  to  whether  it  "  authorized  or  endorsed "  the 
views  expressed  in  the  Courant  article  of  Oct.  29.  The 


396  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Navy,  on  receiving  the  letter,  voted,  Nov.  16,  that  it  was 
too  puerile  and  impertinent  to  deserve  any  reply,  and 
that  no  attention  whatever  be  paid  to  it.  At  the  same 
meeting,  the  captain  of  the  University  crew  stated  in  their 
behalf  that  although  every  one  of  their  number  had 
resolved  that  they  would  never  row  a  race  at  Worcester 
again,  under  any  circumstances,  and  though  it  seemed 
to  be  the  universal  opinion  among  Yale  men  and  the  pub 
lic  generally  that  no  Yale  crew  with  any  sense  of  self-re 
spect  could  ever  again  consent  to  row  there,  it  nevertheless 
appeared  desirable  thus  early  to  have  a  formal  and  authori 
tative  statement  of  this  sentiment  officially  endorsed  by 
the  Navy.  The  decision  was  accordingly  expressed  in 
the  form  of  a  resolution  "  that  no  Yale  crew  shall  hence 
forth  be  allowed  to  challenge  a  corresponding  crew  of  Har 
vard,  except  for  a  straight-away  race,  upon  any  course  in 
the  United  States  which  Harvard  may  select," — which 
vote  was  passed  unanimously,  in  a  very  full  meeting. 
Accordingly,  Dec.  10,  the  University  crew  sent  a  formal 
challenge  to  Harvard  for  "  a  3-mile,  straight-away,  race, 
to  be  rowed  July  14,  1871,  on  any  course  which  the 
challenged  party  may  select."  A  month  or  two  having 
gone  by  without  bringing  a  reply  to  the  challenge,  it 
began  to  be  intimated  in  private  that  no  replv  would  be 
given  until  Yale  had  made  an  answer  to  the  resolution 
of  Nov.  9  ;  and  at  last,  under  date  of  Feb.  3,  a  letter 
was  received  from  the  president  thereof,  stating  that  he 
"  had  been  directed  by  the  Harvard  Boat  Club  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  Yale  Navy  to  the  fact  that  the  H. 
B.  C.  had  as  yet  received  no  reply  to  its  last  communi 
cation," — meaning  thereby  the  enquiry  of  Nov.  9.  At 
a  meeting  of  Feb.  8,  therefore,  the  Navy,  rather  than 
abandon  the  idea  of  a  University  race,  so  far  withdrew 
from  its  original  position  as  to  vote  "that  a  letter  be 
sent  to  Harvard,  stating  in  effect  that  the  Yale  Navy 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  397 

was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  attending  to  boating 
matters,  and  not  in  order  to  run  the  College  Courant  or 
any  other  paper,  and  that  it  should  continue  attending 
to  its  own  business," — which  letter  was  sent  Feb.  9. 
No  reply  following,  the  president  of  the  Navy,  Feb.  24, 
mailed  a  note  to  Harvard,  reminding  them  that  no  reply 
had  been  received  to  the  last  Yale  communication, — 
meaning  thereby  the  challenge  of  Dec.  10, — and  under 
date  of  March  7,  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  H. 
B.  C.  "  notified  the  Yale  Navy  that  their  challenge  had 
been  received  and  would  be  acted  upon  in  a  few  weeks." 
Meanwhile,  March  6,  the  Boston  Journal,  referring  to 
the  reminder  of  Feb.  24,  remarked,  as  if  reflecting  the 
sentiment  of  the  Harvard  meeting,  that  "  Yale's  demand 
for  an  immediate  reply  to  her  challenge  was  unprece 
dented,"— which  remark  was  copied  in  various  other 
newspapers.  In  the  Journal  of  March  15,  the  presi 
dent  of  the  Navy  accordingly  published  a  card,  drawing 
the  editor's  attention  to  the  fact  that  no  demand  had 
been  made,  and  showing  what  an  unfair  advantage  a 
challenged  party  could  take  by  refusing  to  answer,  as  in 
this  case,  until  after  a  period  unprecedentedly  long ; 
especially,  as  at  the  present  time,  when  it  was  extremely 
uncertain  whether  there  would  be  any  race  at  all.  The 
next  news  that  came  from  Cambridge  was  under  date  of 
March  27,  and  as  follows  :  At  a  meeting  of  the  execu 
tive  committee  of  the  H.  B.  C.,  held  to  consider  the 
challenge  of  the  Yale  Navy,  it  was  decided  that  the  H. 
B.  C.  is  willing  to  meet  the  Yale  Navy  in  any  race  in 
which  all  parties  are  sure  of  fair  play.  In  order,  there 
fore,  to  attain  this  desirable  end,  you  are  requested  to  send 
two  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held  at  the  Massasoit 
House,  Springfield,  Mass.,  Saturday,  April  15,  1871,  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Union  Regatta  of  Amer 
ican  Colleges.  An  early  notification  of  your  intention  of 


398  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

attending  the  convention  would  greatly  favor  the  under 
signed,"— president  and  secretary  of  the  H.  B.  C.     At 
a  Navy  meeting,  April  3,  it  was  voted  to  send  Harvard 
a  letter,  stating  the  desire  on  the  part  of  Yale  for  a  defi 
nite  reply  to  the  challenge  of  Dec.  10,  as  a  preliminary 
to  any  action  looking  toward  an  inter-collegiate  regatta; 
and  a  committee  was  also  appointed  to  represent  Yale 
in  the  convention,  which  occurred  in  term  vacation,  pro 
vided    Harvard    should  send   a  definite  refusal  to  the 
challenge  for  a  separate  race.     No  reply  of  any  sort 
being  received,  Yale  did   not    attend   the   convention, 
though  the  president  of  the   Navy  was  present,  unoffi 
cially,  at  the   hotel   on   the  day  in  question,  in  order  to 
assure  the  representatives  of  the  smaller  colleges  that  it 
was  out  of  no  hostility  to  them,  or  even  necessarily  to 
the  idea  of  a  general  regatta,  that  Yale  had  refused  to 
send  in  delegates.     In   the  convention,  three  colleges 
besides  Harvard  were  represented, — Amherst,  Brown, 
and  Bowdoin, — and  the  constitution   then   adopted  for 
this  "  Rowing  Association  of  American  Colleges  "  pro 
vided  that  any  college  boat  club  might  become  a  mem 
ber  thereof  on  notifying  the  secretary  not  later  than  the 
roth  of  May;  and  that  no  club  should  be  allowed  after 
that  date  to  enter  for  the  race  of  1871.     A  committee 
of  the    association,  after  examining  the  two   or   three 
available   courses,  decided   to   hold   a   3-mile-straight- 
away  race  on  the  Connecticut  river,  on  the  course  over 
looked  by  the  "  Jngleside  "  hotel,  about  half  a  dozen 
miles  above  Springfield, — Chicopee  below,  and  Holyoke 
above,  being  the  nearest  railway  stations  in  the  vicinity, 
— on   the    1 4th  of  July  next.     At  a  meeting  of  May  8, 
the  Navy  voted  not  to  enter  the  association,  and  five 
days  later,  with  a  full  representation  of  the  college,  it 
responded  to  a  motion  for  a  reconsideration  by  repeat 
ing  the  vote  with  an  increased  majority.     The  University 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  399 

crew  accepting  the  decision  as  final,  then  broke  training 
and  disbanded  for  the  year.  But  Harvard,  hearing  of 
the  matter,  and  apparently  becoming  a  trifle  alarmed  at 
the  absolute  withdrawal  of  the  only  contestant  that 
could  give  any  character  to  the  race,  at  last,  under  date 
of  May  18,  sent  in  a  letter,  professing  to  show  that  the 
general  regatta  was  rightly  established  by  it  on  account 
of  its  holding  the  championship  ;  that  it  was  designed 
as  a  compromise,  to  please  all  parties,  and  smooth  over 
the  ugly  recollections  of  1870;  that  it  offered  the 
chance  for  a  straight  race,  which  Yale  had  so  long 
desired,  and  was  to  be  rowed  at  a  time  and  place  which 
Yale  was  believed  to  favor  :  but  that  if  Yale  neverthe 
less  insisted  upon  a  separate  meeting  with  Harvard  for 
regaining  the  championship,  the  latter  would  insist  upon 
naming  the  time  and  place  and  upon  rowing  a  race  sim 
ilar  in  its  conditions  to  that  in  which  Yale  lost  the 
championship, — in  other  words,  at  Worcester,  around  a 
single  stake-boat.  This  long-put-off  and  ambiguously 
worded  reply  of  May  18,  1871,  to  the  plain  and  definite 
challenge  of  Dec.  10,  1870,  amounting  to  a  virtual 
rejection  of  the  latter,  was  so  accepted  by  the  Navy, 
which,  at  a  meeting  of  May  24,  voted  to  inform  Har 
vard  that  its  letter  had  been  construed  as  a  non-acccept- 
ance  of  the  challenge,  and  also  that — as  the  appointed 
day  was  now  so  near  at  hand,  and  the  Yale  crew  broken 
up — no  future  acceptance  of  it  would  be  recognized. 
And  so  the  controversy,  begun  Oct.  14,  1870,  by  the 
abuse  of  the  Harvard  Advocate,  was  ended,  May  18,  1871, 
by  the  letter  of  the  Harvard  Boat  Club,  offering  to  row 
over  a  straight  3-mile  course  with  Yale  in  a  union  col 
lege  regatta,  but  insisting  upon  a  doubled,  mile-and-a- 
half-course,  with  a  turning  stake,  as  a  condition  of  a 
University  race. 

In  the  following  lists,  the  name  with  the  boat  is  that 


400  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

of  its  builder ;  the  numerals  with  "  feet "  signify  length, 
with  "inches  "  breadth,  and  with  "pounds,"  weight ;  the 
names  of  the  crews  are  arranged  according  to  their 
positions,  from  stroke  to  bow, — the  numerals  signify  the 
year  of  graduation  ;  and  where  no  other  State  is  given 
as  a  residence  of  the  Harvard  men,  Massachusetts  is  to 
be  understood.  In  the  first  four  races  Yale  drew  the 
inside,  in  the  last  three  Harvard  had  it.  Yale  has  had 
a  different  boat  in  every  race,  while  Harvard  has  won 
three  successive  victories,  1867-69,  in  the  same  beat. 
In  last  year's  race  the  Yale  boat  was  supplied  with 
patent  sliding  seats.  In  the  race  of  1869  the  best  one 
of  the  Harvard  oarsmen — not  being  an  undergraduate — 
had  no  right  in  the  boat,  but  was  allowed  to  enter  it  by 
a  special  vote  of  the  Yale  Navy.  He  and  another  of 
the  crew  sailed  next  day  for  England,  and  both  of  them 
rowed  in  the  International  race  of  August  25.  It  has 
since  been  understood  that  the  oarsman  in  question  had 
only  a  nominal  connection,  with  the  Law  School,  and 
that  hence  as  he  was  not  really  a  member  of  any 
department  of  the  University,  his  taking  part  in  either 
race  was  a  proceeding  of  rather  questionable  morality. 
The  Harvard  statistics,  being  chiefly  derived  from  the 
newspapers,  may  not  be  altogether  accurate. 

FIRST  RACE,— July  29,  1864.     Yale  victorious,— 19:1  to  19:57. 
Yale  boat,  McKay,  49ft.  21  in.  ;  Harvard  boat,  Elliott,  40  ft.  22  in. 
Average  weight  of  Yale  men,  156  Ibs. ;  of  Harvard  men,  145  Ibs. 
W.  R.  Bacon,'65,  New  Haven,Ct.  Horatio  G.  Curtis,  '65,  Boston. 
M. W.Seymour, '66, Litchfield,Ct.  Robert.  S.  Peabody,  '66,  Boston. 
Louis  Stoskopf,  '65,  Freeport,  111.  Thomas  Nelson,  '66,  Boston. 
Edw.B.Bennett,'66,  Hamden,  Ct.  J.  Greenough,  '65,  Jamaica  Plains. 
Edw.  Coffin,  '66,  Irvington,  N.  Y.  E.  C.  Perkins,  '66,  Cincinnati,  ( ). 
W.W.Scranton,'65,  Scranton.Pa.  Edwin  Farnham,'66,  Beverly,  NJ. 

SECOND  RACE,— July  28,  1865.  Yak  victorious,— 1 7:42)0  to  18:9. 
Yale  boat,  McKay,  4S~3'ft.  22  in.,  1 76  Ibs.  Harv'd  boat,  Elliott,  46  ft. 
25  in.,  185  Ibs.  Av.  wt.  of  Yale  men,  153  Ibs. ;  of  Hvd.  men,  135  Ibs. 


STUDENT  LIFE.  4°i 

W.  R.  Bacon,  '65,  New  Haven, Ct.  F.  Crowninshield,  '66,  Boston. 
Edvv.  B.  Bennett,'66,Hamden,Ct.     E.  T.  Wilkinson,  '66,  Cambridge. 
Louis  Stoskopf,  '65,  Freeport,  111.  William  Blaikie,  '66,  Boston. 
Isaac  Pierson,  '66,  Hartford,  Ct.     Edward  N.  Fenno,  '67,  Boston. 
Edw.  Coffin,  '66,  Irvington,  N.Y.  E.  H.  Clark,  '66,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
W.W.  Scranton,'65,  Scranton,  Pa.  C.  H.  McBurney,  '66,  Roxbury. 

THIRD  RACE.— July  27,  1866.     Yale  defeated,— 19:10  to  18:43. 
Yale  boat,  McKay,  40  ft.  20)^  in.,  1 75  Ibs.     Hvd.  boat,  Elliott,  5 1  ft. 
19  in.,  9  in.  deep.    Av.  weight  Yale  men  153  Ibs. ;  Hvd.  men,  146  Ibs. 
Edw.  B.  Bennett, '66,  Hamden,  Ct.  William  Blaikie,  '66,  Boston. 
Wm.  A.  Copp,  '69,  Grafton,  Mass.  E.  T.  Wilkinson,  '66,  Cambridge. 
W.E.Wheeler,'66,  Portville,  N.Y.  Edward  N.  Fenno,  '67,  Boston. 
A.  D.  Bissell,  '67,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.     Robert  S.  Peabody,  '66,  Boston. 
Edw.  Coffin, '66,  Irvington,  N.  Y.  Alden  P.  Loring, '69,  Boston. 

F.  Brown,  '66,  Newburgh,  N.  Y.     C.  H.  McBurney,  '66,  Roxbury. 

FOURTH  RACE, — July  19,  1867.     Yale  defeated, — 19:25%  to  18:13. 
Vale  boat,  McKay,  4911.  22  in. ;  Harvard  boat,  Elliott,  51  ft.  20  in. 
Average  weight  of  Yale  men,  150  Ibs. ;  of  Harvard  men,  155  Ibs. 
Wm.  A.  Copp,  '69,  Grafton,  Mass.  Alden  P.  Loring,  '69,  Boston. 
Samuel  Parry,  '68,  Clinton,  N.  J.    Wm.  H.  Simmons,  '69,  Concord. 
Jas.  Coffin,  '68,  Irvington,  N.  Y.     Thos.  S.  Edwards,  '67,  Newton. 
Wm.  H.  Lee,  '70,  Chicago,  111.        Robert  C.  Watson,  '69,  Milton. 
Wm.  H.  Ferry,  '68,  Chicago,  111.    W.  W.  Richards,  '68,  N.  Y.  City, 
(r.  A.  Adee,'67,Westchester,  N.Y.  G.W.Holdredge,'69,  Ivgtn.,N.Y. 

FIFTH  RACE,— July  24,  1868.     Yale  defeated,— 18:38)^  to  1 7:48^. 
Yale  boat,  Elliott,  53  ft.  20  in. ;  Harvard  boat,   Elliott,  51  ft.  20  in. 
Average  weight  of  Yale  men,  158  Ibs.  ;  of  Harvard  men,  155  Ibs. 
Samuel  Parry,  '68,  Clinton,  N.  J.     Alden  P.  Loring,  '69,  Boston. 
Wm.  A.  Copp,  '69,  Grafton,  Mass.  Robert  C.  Watson,  '69,  Milton. 
Wm.  H.  Lee,  '70,  Chicago,  111.       Wm.  H.  Simmons,  '69,  Concord. 

G.  W.  Drew,  '70,  Winterport,  Me.  J.  W.   McBurney,  '69,  Roxbury. 
S.  F.  Bucklin,'69,  Marlboro,  Mass.  W.  W.  Richards,  '68,  N.  Y.  City. 
Rod.  Terry,  '70,  Irvington,  N.Y.    G.W.Holdredge,'69,  Ivgtn.,N.Y. 

SIXTH    RACE,— July  23,   1869.      Yale   defeated, — i8:il    to    i8:2. 
Yale  boat,  Elliott,  53ft.  19  in. ;  Harvard  boat,  Elliott,  51  ft.  20  in. 
Average  weight  of  Yale  men;  161  Ibs. ;  of  Harvard  men,  155  Ibs. 
G.W.  Drew,  '70, Winterport.,  Me.  Francis  O.  Lyman,  '71,  Boston. 


402  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Wm.  A.  Copp,  '69,  Grafton,  Mass.  Theoph.  Parsons,  '70,  Brookline. 
D.  McC.  Bone, '70,  Petersburg,  111.  Jos.  S.  Fay,  Law  Dep'L,  Boston. 
Wm.  H.  Lee,  '70,  Chicago,  111.        G.  Willis,  '70,  Cornwall,  X.  V. 
K.  T).Coonley,'7i,Greenville,N.Y.  George  I.  Jones,  '71,  Templeton. 
Rod.  Terry,  '70,  Irvington,  N.  V.  Nath.  G.  Read,  '71,  Cambridge. 

SEVENTH  RACE,— July  22/70.  Yale  defeated  (?),— 18:45  to  2O'3O. 
Yale  boat,  Elliott,  48  ft.  22  in.  ;  Harvard  boat,  Blaikie,  50  ft.  21  in. 
Av.  wt.  of  Yale  men,  159  Ibs.  ;  of  Harvard  men,  153  Ibs. 

D.  McC.  Bone,  '70,  Petersbiirg.Ill.  Francis  O.  Lyman,  '71,  Boston. 
W.  F.  McCook,  '73,  Pittsburg,  Pa.  George  I.  Jones,  '71,  Templeton. 

E.  D.Coonley,'7i, Greenville, N.Y.  G.  Willis,  '70,  Cornwall,  N.  Y. 
William  L.  Cushing,'72,  Bath,  Me.  J.  S.  McCobb,  '71,  Portland,  Me. 
W.  W.  Flagg,  '73,  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  Robert  S.  Russell,  '72,  Boston. 
C.  Phelps,  '70,  Colebrook,  Ct.         Nath.  G.  Reed,  '71,  Cambridge. 

Gymnastic  exercises  are  so  closely  connected  with 
boating  that  they  may  be  fitly  described  here,  though 
Freshmen  perhaps  engage  in  them  more  extensively 
than  any  other  class  of  undergraduates.  Previous  to 
the  erection  of  the  Gymnasium  in  1859,  there  were 
several  private  affairs  of  the  sort  in  various  parts  of  the 
city,  which  were  largely  patronized  by  the  students, 
though  the  one  which  stood  upon  the  premises  now 
known  as  No.  74  High  street  was  the  most  popular 
resort.  It  is  said,  too,  that  before  that  time  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  college  yard,  where  Alumni  Hall  now 
stands,  was  adorned  with  several  rude  frames  and 
vaulting  bars,  whereon  the  students  managed  to  "exer 
cise."  In  the  present  building  the  main  floor  is  supplied 
with  all  the  gymnastic  paraphernalia  that  could  well  be 
desired, — one  of  the  recent  additions  being  the  series 
of  "rowing  weights,"  for  the  special  use  of  boating 
men.  These  are  so  arranged  that  the  "  rowers  "  sit  in 
regular  order,  behind  "  the  stroke,"  as  if  they  were  really 
in  the  boat.  The  motion  is  intended  to  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  like  that  of  pulling  an  oar,  and  600  or  800 
successive  "  strokes,"  at  the  rate  of  36  or  40  to  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4°3 

minute,  are  accounted  a  tolerable  equivalent  for  a  morn 
ing's  practice  pull.  Next  to  this  substitute  for  rowing, 
the  swinging  of  Indian  clubs  is  the  exercise  chiefly 
affected  by  boating  men,  during  the  wintry  months  and 
the  stormy  days  when  they  cannot  practise  upon  the  water, 
though  of  course  the  various  other  modes  of  gymnastic 
drill  are  not  altogether  neglected. 

In  the  basement  of  the  Gymnasium  are  a  half-dozen 
bowling  alleys,  and  twice  that  number  of  bathing-rooms. 
Bath  tickets,  sold  at  a  nominal  price,  are  required  for 
admission  to  the  latter.  Dressing  rooms  occupy  half 
the  gallery  stretched  across  the  south  end  of  the  main 
hall  of  the  building,  but  they  are  not  used  very  exten 
sively,  as  most  who  exercise  dislike  the  trouble  of  going 
up  stairs, — preferring  to  "dress"  at  their  rooms,  and 
hang  up  their  outer  garments  upon  the  hooks  provided 
in  the  gymnasium  proper.  The  other  half  of  the  gallery 
is  taken  up  by  the  apartments  of  the  person  employed 
to  give  instruction  in  gymnastics.  From  prayer-time  in 
the  morning  until  10  o'clock  at  night  the  Gymnasium  is 
kept  open,  and  it  is  not  often  entirely  deserted  in  that 
interval,  but  the  hours  specially  affected  are:  (i)  after 
morning  recitation,  say  from  9.30  to  n;  (2)  between 
noon  recitation  and  dinner,  from  12.30  till  i;  (3)  just 
before  the  evening  recitation,  at  5  o'clock ;  and  (4)  late 
in  the  evening.  The  first  and  last  are  generally  con 
sidered  the  best  times  for  exercise,  and  are  chosen  by 
nearly  all  who  are  "  in  training  " ;  but  the  half-hour 
before  dinner  is  the  time  when  by  far  the  largest  crowd 
may  be  seen  at  work  in  the  Gymnasium.  Being  a  novelty 
to  most  of  the  Freshmen,  they  frequent  it  in  great  num 
bers  for  the  first  term  or  two, — especially  its  bowling 
alleys,  which  upper-class  men  rarely  make  use  of.  There 
are  no  statistics  to  show  how  large  a  proportion  of  the 
different  classes  or  the  college  in  general  resort  to  it, 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

but  it  seems  probable  that  the  Juniors  go  there  to  a 
greater  extent  than  the  Sophomores,  that  the  Seniors 
frequent  it  least  of  all,  and  that  somewhat  more  than 
half  of  all  the  undergraduates  are  in  the  habit  of  taking 
exercise  there,  with  more  or  less  regularity.  A  few  of 
the  younger  members  of  the  faculty  are  among  its  occa 
sional  patrons. 

In  1868  was  started  the  custom  of  holding  two  or 
three  public  gymnastic  exhibitions,  within  a  few  days  of 
each  other,  about  the  middle  of  the  month  of  March. 
The  performers  on  these  occasions  undergo  several 
weeks  of  preparatory  drill,  a  "  class  "  being  formed,  and 
a  "  captain "  appointed,  for  each  particular  kind  of 
exercise,  and  the  Instructor  having  charge  of  the  whole. 
At  the  exhibitions  they  are  rigged  in  the  dress  of  circus 
actors,  and  go  through  with  many  feats  that  would 
hardly  do  discredit  to  professionals  themselves.  Music 
and  singing  serve  to  fill  up  the  intervals,  and  the  various 
racks  and  ladders  are  alive  with  the  undergraduate  spec 
tators,  while  the  ladies  and  their  attendants  occupy  the 
"  reserved  seats  "  below.  Members  of  the  faculty  also 
attend.  The  shows  have  thus  far  been  quite  successful, 
and,  though  for  some  reason  none  was  held  this  year,  they 
bid  fair  to  become  a  regular  institution  of  the  college. 
The  profits  made  from  the  admission  fees  accrue  to  the 
Navy,  to  which  it  naturally  happens  that  most  of  the 
gymnasts  belong.  There  is  very  little  "instruction" 
given  except  at  the  time  of  training  for  these  exhibitions, 
chiefly  because  it  is  not  asked  for.  Boxing  and  fencing 
are  the  rarest  exercises  known  to  the  gymnasium,  and 
fencers  are  obliged  to  procure  their  own  swords. 
Presents  of  books  and  silverware  are  given  to  the  most 
successful  gymnasts  at  these  exhibitions.  These,  after 
all,  are  not  exactly  a  novelty,  since  a  show  of  the  sort 
was  once  held  in  Presentation  week — Tuesday,  July  9, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  405 

1864 — and  a  similar  celebration  took  place  when  the 
building  was  formally  opened. 

Without  doubt  the  most  unique  of  the  customs  recently 
known  to  the  college  was  the  "Presentation  of  the 
Wooden  Spoon  "  by  the  junior  class,  which,  at  the  time 
of  its  abolishment,  had  come  to  be  the  exhibition  of  the 
whole  college  year.  It  was  originated  by  Henry  T. 
Blake  of  '48,  as  a  burlesque  on  the  regular  Junior  Ex 
hibition,  and  was  held  within  a  few  days  of  the  latter. 
According  to  tradition,  various  presentations  had  been 
in  vogue  at  the  time  of  the  old  Commons  Hall,  such  as  : 
a  pair  of  red-topped  boots  to  the  most  popular  man  ; 
a  jack  knife  to  the  homeliest,  and  a  leather  medal  if  he 
refused  the  knife  ;  a  cane  to  the  handsomest ;  and  a 
wooden  spoon  to  the  one  who  ate  the  most.  These 
recipients  were  'presumably  Juniors,  while  the  "  mathe 
matical  slate  "  was  handed  down,  year  after  year,  to  the 
Sophomore  who  had  excelled  in  Euclid.  This  and  the 
jack-knife  custom  were  doubtless  adopted  from  Harvard, 
where  both  were  for  a  long  time  observed.  But  the  idea 
of  the  Wooden  Spoon  came  less  from  this  old  tradition 
of  Commons  than  from  the  practise  in  vogue  at  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  England,  of  nicknaming  the 
Junior  Optime,  or  last  man  on  the  honor-list  of  each 
year,  "the  wooden  spoon."  Near  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  in  mentioning  this  as 
an  old  habit,  says  :  "  Notwithstanding  his  being  in  fact 
superior  to  all-of  them,  the  very  lowest  of  the  ot  TTO/./.O/ 
or  gregarious  undistinguished  bachelors,  think  them 
selves  entitled  to  shoot  the  pointless  arrows  of  their 
clumsy  wit  against  the  wooden  spoon;  and  to  reiterate 
the  stale  and  perennial  remark,  that,  *  Wranglers  are 
born  with  gold  spoons  in  their  mouths,  Senior  Optimes 
with  silver,  Junior  Optimes  with  wooden,  and  the  oi  TTO),- 
l.ot  with  leaden  ones.'"  So,  at  Yale,  "third-colloquy 


406  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

men,"  or  those  lowest  on  the  list  of  junior  appointments, 
are  always  subjected  to  good-natured  chaffing  and 
ridicule  at  the  hands  of  the  rabble  who  gain  no  appoint 
ments  whatever.  And  as  the  last  honor-man  at  Cam 
bridge  was  said  metaphorically  to  "  take  the  wooden 
spoon,"  so,  upon  the  winner  of  the  lowest  colloquy  ap 
pointment  at  Yale  was  it  determined  to  confer  an  actual 
wooden  spoon  in  token  thereof. 

This  was  the  original  theory  of  the  custom,  but  it  was 
never,  after  the  first  exhibition,  really  carried  out.  Early 
in  the  second  term,  the  Editors  of  the  Lit.  used  to 
appoint  a  responsible  Junior  to  call  a  meeting  of  his 
class  for  the  election  of  a  "  Spoon  Committee"  of  nine 
members,  three  from  each  division.  At  the  call  of  this 
Committee,  the  "  cochleaureati" — a  name  applied  at  that 
time  to  all  non-appointment  men — assembled,  and-made 
choice  of  the  "  Spoon  Man"  from  among  those  having 
low  appointments  at  Junior  Ex,  but  not  necessarily  the 
lowest.  Others  say  that  the  Spoon  was  first  offered  to 
the  lowest  appointee,  and  in  case  he  refused  it  the  collo 
quy  men  chose  some  one  else  from  among  their  number 
as  the  recipient.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
all  the  Spoon  Men  save  the  first  two,  who  became  such 
by  virtue  of  their  low  appointments,  have  been  chosen 
from  the  Spoon  Committee  itself.  .This,  in  1854,  be 
came  the  "  Society  of  the  Cochleaureati,"  and  for  a  half 
dozen  years  the  members  of  it  elected  their  own  succes 
sors,  or  rather  eight  of  them,  while  the  eight  themselves 
elected  the  ninth  each  year.  The  eight  of  76i,  however, 
elected  two  new  men,  making  ten  on  the  committee. 
This  caused  trouble  and  the  Cochs  of  '60  laid  the  mat 
ter  before  the  junior  class,  who  decided  that  ten  should 
belong  to  the  committee  and  reflected  the  same  individ 
uals  already  chosen.  In  turn,  next  year,  this  society  of 
'61,  on  January  12,  to  prevent  any  dissatisfaction,  called 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4° 7 

a  meeting  of  the  junior  class  and  surrendered  to  them 
the  election  of  the  Cochs  of  '62.  The  usual  nine  were 
accordingly  chosen,  and  initiated  on  the  following  Fri 
day  evening  ;  but  on  May  1 1  the  class  assembled  again 
and  decided  to  hold  no  Spoon  Exhibition.  A  large 
minority,  however,  who  favored  the  custom,  applied  to 
the  Cochs  of  '61  to  appoint  successors  to  carry  it  out  in 
the  name  of  the  society  as  formerly,  and  a  committee  of 
eleven  were  accordingly  chosen  by  them,  seven  of  the 
number  being  of  the  nine  originally  elected  by  the  class. 
Thirteen  members  of  '62  were  thus  initiated  into  the 
Cochleaureati,  though  of  course  the  programmes  only 
indicated  the  names  of  the  eleven  who  actually  had 
charge  of  the  exhibition.  Except  in  these  two  classes, 
the  number  has  always  been  nine,  as  first  established, 
though  the  three  divisions  have  not  been  equally  repre 
sented,  unless  by  accident.  In  1862,  early  in  the  second 
term,  the  junior  class  (''63)  elected  their  Cochs  at  a 
meeting  called  and  presided  over  by  the  Spoon  Man  of 
the  year  before,  and  this  continued  to  be  the  practice 
ever  after.  From  the  Latin — cochlear^  a  spoon,  and 
laitrcatits — is  derived  the  name,  which  is  rarely  used 
save  in  the  plural,  Cochleaureati.  It  is  almost  always 
wrongly  pronounced,  as  a  word  of  five  syllables,  and  is 
often  incorrectly  spelled.  The  abbreviation,  Coch,  is 
the  only  form  of  the  word  used  in  conversation. 

At  first,  when  all  the  non-appointment  men  were 
called  Cochleaureati,  the  Cochs  were  expected  to  be 
mostly  chosen  from  their  number  ;  then,  all  but  the  high- 
appointment  men  were  rendered  eligible  for  election  ; 
and  soon  the  matter  of  scholarship,  on  which  the  custom 
started,  was  lost  sight  of  altogether,  and  the  nine  "  best 
fellows" — the  wittiest,  most  "  popular,"  genial,  and  gen 
tlemanly  men  of  the  class — were  chosen  for  the  office. 
After  the  first  few  years,  the  Spoon  Man  was  chosen 


408  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

from  among  their  own  number  by  the  Cochs  themselves, 
as  the  President  and  minor  officers  had  been  from  the 
outset,  and  he  was  not  supposed  to  be  known  outside 
the  "  Society  of  the  Cochleaureati"  until  the  night  of 
the  exhibition.     Thus  the  position  of  Spoon  Man  grew 
to  be  the  highest  elective  honor  of  college,  and  that  of 
Coch  was  but  little  inferior  to  it.     The  election  of  the 
nine  was  the  "great  thing"  upon  which  college  politics 
centered,  and  the  way  the  junior  societies  usually  man 
aged  to  control  the  matter  has  been  detailed  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  them.     With  a  coalition  definitely 
arranged,  the  chief  source  of  discord  in  a  society  was 
the  "order"  in  which  "its"  Cochs  should  be  nominated. 
Supposing  that  by  agreement  the  first  Psi  U  Coch  was  to 
have  the  Spoon,  it  was  usually  expected  that  the  first 
DKE  Coch  would  be  President,  and  the  reverse.     So, 
too,  the  second  cochship  was   thought  a  higher  honor 
than  the  third,  and  the  third  than  the  fourth.     The  Jun 
iors   of  '71,  who  gave  the  final   Spoon  Exhibition,  not 
being  able  to  agree  upon  their  nominations  in  their  soci 
ety  halls,  held  a  "  coalition  meeting,"  composed  of  all 
the  class  except  the  Delta  Phi  men,  and  by  a  general 
vote  nominated  four  Cochs  each  from  Psi  U  and  DKE 
in  regular  order,  and  one  fr^m  the  neutrals — this  being 
the  scheme   of  the  coalition, — but  as  the  arrangement 
caused  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  class  and  college,  all 
the  nominations  were  resigned,  the  coalition  was  declared 
at  an  end,  and  when  in  January  the  whole  class  met,  at 
the  call  of  the  Spoon  Man  of  '70,  to  elect  their  Cochs, 
it  was  with  the  understanding  that  all  votes  should  be 
freely  cast  without  regard  to  previous  arrangements  of 
any  sort.     As  a  result  of  this  unpledged  ballot,  seven  of 
the  nine  originally  nominated  were  elected.     It  is  but 
fair  to  say  that  politics  made  their  worst  display  in  '71, 
and  that  their  course  in  '69,  even,  was  a  rather  unusual 
one. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4°9 

All  this  quarreling  about  the  "  order"  in  which  a  man 
should  be  nominated  for  a  class  committee  arises  from 
its  being  taken  as  a  guage  of  his  "  popularity,"  and  so 
influencing  his  chances  of  an  election  to  a  senior  society. 
Of  late  years,  men  of  reputation  as  wits,  or  writers,  or 
scholars  were  not  often  chosen  on  the  Spoon  Committee, 
as  formerly,  even  though  they  were  "  good  fellows"  as 
well.  "Office"  had  come  to  be  looked  at  as  a  sort  of 
spoils  which  should  be  distributed  with  some  approach 
of  equality,  and  as  these  men  had  sufficient  prominence 
already  .to  make  their  chances  of  society  elections 
"good,"  the  cochships  were  given  to  those  whose  sole 
"  strong  point"  was  their  popularity,  which  was  thus 
brought  to  the  notice  of  upper-class  men  in  a  tangible 
form.  To  confer  one  upon  a  Lit.  editor,  or  "  big  prize 
man,"  as  used  to  be  done  not  unfrequently,  was 
accounted  a  sheer  waste  of  political  power.  Another 
circumstance  that  still  further  restricted  the  choice  of 
men  was  this,  that  as  the  exhibition  with  its  belongings 
grew  more  and  more  elaborate  and  expensive,  it  became 
more  and  more  desirable  that  the  Cochleaureati  should 
be  the  possessors  of  long  purses.  A  poor  man,  in  short, 
could  not  afford  to  accept  the  office,  and  therefore, 
however  well  liked  he  might  be,  he  never  expected  his 
classmates  to  confer  upon  him  this  costly  mark  of  their 
esteem.  Yet  spite  of  all  the  political  considerations 
which  affected  the  result,  it  was  as  from  the  first  very 
generally  true  that  the  Spoon  Man  was  "  the  most  pop 
ular  one"  of  the  "  nine  most  popular  men"  in  every  jun 
ior  class ;  that  he  and  they  were,  so  far  as  outward 
appearances  went,  the  best  representatives  of  the  social, 
gentlemanly  element  of  college.  It  should  be  remem 
bered,  however,  that  college  "popularity"  and  college 
friendship  are  not  synonymous  terms. 

The  "  initiation  "  of  the  new  Cochs  took  place  at  the 
19 


410  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

New  Haven  House  on  the  Friday  evening  after  their 
election, — a  grand  supper  being  the  chief  feature  of  the 
ceremony.  At  its  conclusion,  the  new  Cochs  make  a 
great  uproar  about  the  colleges,  dragging  their  class 
mates  from  their  beds,  driving  them  about  the  hall  with 
their  spoons,  and  so  on, — for  which  little  amusement 
they  are  ofttimes  heavily  marked  by  the  faculty.  The 
bills  of  fare  at  the  supper  bore  the  names  of  the  18  par 
ticipants,  printed  in  ornamental  fashion,  with  spoon 
embellishments.  Next  morning  the  newly  initiated 
swing  out  their  badges,  which  consisted  of  miniature 
gold  spoons,  perhaps  two  inches  in  length.  These 
were  constantly  worn,  usually  in  connection  with  the 
junior-society  badge,  up  to  the  time  of  the  exhibition  : 
after  that  they  were  rarely  displayed.  In  return  for  the 
supper,  and  the  spoons,  and  the  society  archives  and 
effects,  and  the  good  advice  given  in  initiating  them, 
the  retiring  Cochs  required  from  the  new  comers  an 
initiation  fee  of  $20  or  $25.  Thenceforth,  on  alternate 
Friday  evenings,  until  the  exhibition,  each  Coch  in  suc 
cession  gave  a  "spread  "  or  "  wine  party",  at  his  room,  to 
the  other  seventeen  members  of  the  society,  or  as  many 
of  them  as  chose  to  attend.  At  these  "  committee 
meetings  "  the  plans  for  the  show  were  decided  upon. 
From  the  Coch  chosen  Spoon  Man  an  especially  lavish 
treat  was  expected.  Every  Coch  save  the  Spoon  Man 
procured  a  plain  black  walnut  spoon,  some  three  feet  in 
length,  with  his  name  and  class  cut  upon  the  blade,  for 
use  at  the  exhibition,  after  which  it  was  hung  up  in  his 
room  as  a  trophy.  In  senior  year  he  lent  it  for  a  hall 
decoration  to  his  successors.  27ie  Spoon  was  a  much 
more  elaborate  and  costly  affair  than  the  others,  being 
handsomely  carved  and  ornamented,  with  a  silver  plate 
in  front  on  which  were  engraved  the  name  and  class  of 
the  recipient,  the  date  of  presentation,  and  so  forth, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4 1 1 

while  on  the  back  was  cut  the  motto,  Dum  vivimus,  viva- 
mus.  A  velvet-lined  case  was  provided  for  it,  and  its 
size  and  material  were  usually  the  same  as  the  others, — 
though  rosewood  has  sometimes  taken  the  place  of 
black  walnut,  and  other  costly  woods  have  perhaps  been 
employed.  The  spoon  badges  were  first  mentioned  in 
1851,  and  the  plain  wooden  spoons  in  1856,  though  they 
were  then  much  smaller  than  afterwards.  The  original 
spoon  had  a  rosewood  handle  and  a  clam-shell  bowl, 
and  is  now  supposed  to  be  in  Bones  hall. 

In  1851  also  first  appeared  upon  the  programmes 
the  steel-plate  "  emblem  of  the  Cochs  "  ( Insigne  Coch- 
Icaureatorum ),  which  was  ever  afterwards  retained. 
Henry  T.  Blake  of  '48  originated  the  design,  which  may 
be  described  as  follows  :  Upright  oblong  garter — Honi 
soil  qui  mal  y  pense — surrounding  a  quartered  shield, 
surmounted  by  a  helmet,  from  the  closed  visor  of  which 
projects  a  spoon  ;  crest,  a  mailed  right  arm  grasping  a 
spoon  j  branches  of  laurel  each  side  of  the  design  ; 
below,  In  hoc  signo  vinccs,  inscribed  on  band  twined 
about  a  spoon  :  shield,  obliquely  divided  from  dexter 
base  to  sinister  chief  by  band  with  the  legend,  Super 
sinistram  lugemus  g^%  right  upper  quarter  and  left  lower 
quarter  red  (gules),  the  one  bearing  crossed  spoons,  the 
other  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  badge  reversed  ;  left  upper 
quarter  and  right  lower  quarter  blue  (azure),  the  one 
bearing  a  scales  in  which  a  spoon  outbalances  a  figure 
supposed  to  represent  scholarship,  motto,  Mene  tekel 
upharsin,  the  other  a  horn  from  the  little  end  of  which  a 
similar  figure  protrudes.  Latterly  the  "  azure "  gave 
place  to  "argent,"  owing  doubtless  to  the  mistake  of  the 
engraver,  who,  in  reproducing  the  plate  failed  to  observe 
the  horizontal  lines  which  had  become  rather  indistinct, 
and  accordingly  left  the  "blue"  quarters  "white."  A 
large  illuminated  copy  of  this  "  insigne  "  was  displayed 


4*2  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

in  the  hall  on  the  night  of  the  exhibition.  It  has  also 
been  lithographed  in  colors  to  serve  as  a  title-page  to 
the  "  Wooden  Spoon  Landers  "  in  sheet  music.  Com 
mencing  with  the  class  of  '55,  it  was  customary  to  issue 
steel-engraved  invitations,  requesting,  in  the  names  of 

the  Cochleaureati,  the  company  of at  the  Wooden 

Spoon  Exhibition  on  such  a  night.     At  the  head  was  a 
characteristic    sketch,    in    some    way    introducing    the 
Spoon,  and  the  numeral  of  the  class.     An  embossed 
monogram  superseded  this  during  the  last  four  years  of 
the  show,  but  for  the  last  three  an  engraving  similar  to  the 
old  figured  upon  the  admission  tickets.     From  the  class 
of '6 1  onwards,  the  picture  on  the  invitation  did  service 
upon   the   ticket  also ;    except  that  '62,    owing  to   the 
haste    of  preparing  their    exhibition,    had    no    time   to 
procure  engraved  invitations.     A  "gentleman's  "  and  a 
"  lady's  "  ticket  were  always  of  different  colors, — which 
fact  was  true  at  the  first  public  exhibition,  when  one  was 
blue,  the  other  white,  and  the  large  wood-cut  of  a  spoon 
was  the  only  attempt  at  ornament.     It  should  be  men 
tioned  that  the  idea  of  engraved  formal  invitations  was 
derived  from    a  similar  practice  once  in  vogue  at  the 
time  of  Junior  Ex.     ]n  some  of  these  pictures  the  spoon 
was  represented   as    a   boat,    rowed    by   cherubs   with 
smaller  spoons  for  oars ;  in  others  it  was  a  triumphal 
chariot,    and  so  on.     In  '66,  whose  spoon  man  was  a 
noted    bow-oar,  dolphins    were    depicted    bearing   him 
along  in  a  spoon  boat,  which  he  steered  with  a  spoon 
rudder.     Views  of  Yale,  and  of  the  Temple  of  Fame 
were  common  in  the  pictures,  amid  abundant  cherubs, 
and  the  cocks  vulgarly  known  as  roosters. 

But  to  the  Spoon  Presentation  itself.  It  was  at  first 
held  in  the  Temple,  secretly  for  fear  of  the  faculty. 
The  word  as  to  time  and  place  was  quietly  given  out  at 
evening  chapel,  a  few  hours  before  the  exhibition,  and 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4r3 

doorkeepers,  disguised  as  Indians  to  prevent  recognition 
should  any  college  officer  appear  in  the  crowd,  closely 
scrutinized  ever  applicant  for  admission,  and  allowed 
none  to  enter  the  Temple  save  those  who  were  known. 
"  By  the  time  the  hour  has  arrived,  the  hall  is  densely 
packed  with  undergraduates  and  professional  students. 
The  President,  who  is  a  non-appointment  man,  and  prob 
ably  the  poorest  scholar  in  the  class,  sits  on  a  stage  with 
his  associate  professors.  As  the  hour  strikes,  he  arises 
with  becoming  dignity,  and,  instead  of  the  usual  phrase, 
"Musicam  audeamus,"  restores  order  among  the  audience 
by  "  Silentiam  audeamus,'  and  then  addresses  the  band, 
'  Musica  cantetur.'  "  Then,  after  a  "  Latin  salutatory  " 
and  various  burlesque  orations,  dissertations,  poems, 
disputes  and  colloquies,  the  presiding  officer  made  the 
speech  of  presentation,  to  which  the  recipient  of  the 
Spoon  responded.  Everything  was  intended  to  be  as 
witty  as  possible,  and  personal  "  hits "  at  the  faculty 
and  the  speakers  of  the  Junior  Ex  were  plentiful. 
High  appointment  men,  not  members  of  the  Committee, 
took  part  in  the  exercises ;  the  college  glee  club  fur 
nished  music ;  and  several  songs  written  for  the  occa 
sion  found  a  place  upon  the  programme, — which  in  1847 
was  plain,  in  1849  was  headed  with  the  wood-cut  of  a 
spoon.  These  were  the  only  two  years  in  which  ex 
hibitions  were  held  in  the  Temple  as  described,  no 
spoons  being  presented  in  1848  and  1850,  and  the  show 
of  1851 — instituted  by  the  Juniors  of  '52 — being  public, 
like  its  19  annual  successors. 

The  finale  of  the  first  programme,  April  23,  1847,  was 
a  "  colloquy  "  entitled,  "  Influence  of  Humbug  on  Large 
Assemblies,"  to  which  was  appended  a  note  stating  that 
the  five  witty  Juniors  who  were  to  take  part  therein, 
would  "commence  speaking  in  the  order  of  their  names." 
In  expectation  of  this  rich  treat  the  audience  waited  and 


4^4  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

waited  until  the  idea  finally  dawned  upon  them  that  the 
"colloquy''  was  simply  a  practical  joke  upon  themselves. 
"  Sells  "  and  surprises  of  this  sort  have  been  a  prominent 
feature  of  later  exhibitions,  though  generally  of  a  less 
serious  character  than  that  first  one.  The  exhibition  of 
1851  was  introduced  with  a  "March,  by  the  Band," 
called  the  "  Tibicenes,"  who,  at  the  word  of  the  presi 
dent,  marched  up  the  aisle,  with  their  instruments  slung 
over  their  left  shoulders,  and  quietly  took  their  places  on 
the  stage.  Next  year  the  musicians  were  called  the 
"  Hornicines,"  and  the  year  after  the  "  Symphoniaci," 
while  in  1849  the  music  was  by  the  "Jam-mania" 
society.  In  1857,  "  Music,  by  Dodsworth's  band,"  was, 
in  a  foot  note,  "  excused  on  account  of  absence  from  the 
city."  The  real  Germania  Society,  Dodsworth's  Band, 
Thomas's  Orchestra,  and  the  rest,  were  afterwards  en 
gaged,  however,  and  for  the  past  ten  years  or  more  the 
excellent  character  of  the  music  has  been  one  of  the 
great  attractions  of  the  show,  as  well  as  the  heaviest 
item  in  its  cost. 

There  had  been  two  exhibitions  in  the  Temple,  as 
described,  of  a  somewhat  scurrilous  and  disreputable 
character,  when  it  was  decided  to  reform  the  ceremony, 
place  it  upon  a  respectable  basis,  and  admit  by  special 
invitation  the  faculty  and  the  ladies.  Brewster's  Hall, 
then  new,  was  chosen,  and  on  Friday  evening,  May  23, 
1851,  was  filled  to  the  utmost  by  an  interested  audience, 
300  of  whom  were  ladies,  and  the  success  of  the 
Wooden  Spoon,  as  a  reputable  college  institution,  was 
triumphantly  established.  It  was  held  in  the  same  place 
for  10  successive  years,  or  until,  in  1861,  the  new  Music 
Hall  superseded  Brewster's  as  a  public  resort.  From 
1854  to  '59,  the  Monday  evening  before  Presentation 
Day  was  the  appointed  time,  but  on  that  year  Monday 
night  was  for  the  first  time  devoted  to  the  Spoon  Prom- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4 I 5 

enade  concert,  and  the  main  exhibition  deferred  till  the 
following  evening.  This  arrangement  was  retained  till 
the  end  in  1870. 

In  1851  and  the  three  years  following,  a  "valedictory" 
ended  the  performance,  though  the  last  thing  on  the 
programme  was  some  such  title  as  "  Tremendous  ap 
plause — by  the  Audience,"  "  Stampede — by  the  Audi 
ence,"  or  "The  audience  retire,  headed  by  the  boy 
nearest  the  door."  In  1855  and  the  10  years  following, 
the  last  thing  on  the  bill  was  the  "Doxology,"  that  is, 
the  song  "  Gaudeamus,"  which  was  rendered  as  the 
audience  were  withdrawing.  The  first  time  it  was  intro 
duced  they  were,  by  a  foot  note,  "  invited  to  join  in  sing 
ing"  it,  which  in  their  haste  to  depart  they  probably 
failed  to  do.  Owing  to  the  confusion  caused  by  many 
people  leaving  the  hall  during  the  "  Spoon  addresses," 
these  in  1867  were  brought  from  the  last  to  the  first  part 
of  the  programme,  and  retained  that  position  ever  after. 
The  "  opening  load"  first  appeared  in  1857,  and  for  five 
years  seems  to  have  signified  the  means  by  which  the 
programmes  were  distributed.  Sometimes  these  were 
shot  out  from  an  immense  mock  cannon ;  sometimes 
tossed  out  from  a  gigantic  bowl  by  means  of  a  spoon  ; 
and  so  on.  It  was  in  1862  that  the  "  load"  first  had  a 
special  name,  and  perhaps  became,  as  afterwards,  a 
sort  of  "  sell "  by  means  of  which,  at  the  opening  of  the 
exhibition,  the  Spoon  Man  was  first  indicated  to  the  audi 
ence.  The  curtain  rises  for  the  "load"  called  the 
"  Strawberry,"  discloses  the  eight  Cochs  standing  beside 
an  immense  sheaf  of  straw,  which  two  of  them  open 
with  their  spoons,  and  Berry,  the  Spoon  Man  steps  forth 
and  bows  to  the  audience,  who,  as  the  curtain  falls,  ex 
amine  their  programmes  again  and  again  to  appreciate 
the  joke.  "The  Inbred  Gentleman"  in  a  similar  way 
comes  forth  from  a  huge  loaf  of  bread.  "  The  Innate 


41 6  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

Gentleman,"  steps  out  of  a  gigantic  "  8."  E  novem 
unus  was  the  motto  appended  in  this  case,  Eno  being 
the  name  of  the  Spoon  Man.  "The  Peacock,"  is  com 
posed  of  an  immense  pea-pod,  from  which  the  Coch  is 
shelled.  "  The  Perfect  Brick"  stands  amid  a  pile  of 
broken  and  jagged  ones,  and  encloses  the  "  brick"  of  his 
class.  Other  "  loads"  have  been  :  the  "  Bursting  Shell," 
the  "  Rise  in  Flour,"  and  the  "  Bird  of  Paradise" ;  in 
which  latter  case,  "  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
these  animals  the  committee  decided  to  leave  out  the 
opening  load."  In  this  way  the  word  has  come  to  be 
accepted  in  college  talk  as  a  synonym  for  "  sell"  or 
"  practical  joke."  While  presiding  over  the  "  load,"  and 
during  the  Spoon  addresses,  the  Cochs  were  arrayed  in 
black  dress-suits,— swallow  tailed  coats,  and  white  neck 
ties.  In  this  garb,  they  distributed  programmes  through 
out  the  audience  just  before  the  show  opened.  For 
merly  they  acted  as  ushers  also,  but  that  duty  was  latterly 
performed  by  the  regular  officials  connected  with  the 
hall. 

Up  to  1867  tne  original  plan  was  retained  of  naming 
the  various  parts  of  the  programme  after  the  titles  of  the 
junior  appointments,  as  oration,  high  oration,  philosoph 
ical  oration,  dissertation,  dispute,  colloquy,  and  so  on, 
though  any  one  of  these  might  refer  to  a  play,  or  panto 
mime,  or  take-off,  or  "  sell"  of  some  sort.  For  the  three 
final  years,  however,  the  "  Latin  salutatory"  was  the 
only  thing  left  to  suggest  what  was  at  the  outset  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  ceremony, — a  burlesque  of 
Junior  Exhibition.  This  salutatory  was  an  actual  ad 
dress,  whereby  words  of  greeting  were  offered  to  the 
classes,  the  Cochs,  the  faculty,  and  the  spectators  in 
general  ;  in  an  absurd  farrago  of  "  Latin"  and  English 
phrases,  intended  to  be  as  witty  as  possible.  Some  of 
the  subjects  of  past  "  philosophical  orations"  have  been  : 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4 1 1 

"  The  indeorepulsiveness  of  capillaceous  substances,  if 
electrolysized  by  catenarial  and  grindstonical  agencies," 
"  the  phosphorescence  of  putrescent  fire,  sublimated  in 
the  correlation  and  conservation  of  invisible  luminos 
ity,"  "  the  tesselated  peculiarities  of  sublunary  particles," 
"electrical  luminosities  the  result  of  barricadation,"  "  the 
subtaneous  concussion  of  particles  calorigenous," 
"  the  political  influence  of  peanuts,"  "  the  profundity  of 
molecules,"  "  the  comet,"  "  the  wonders  of  science," 
"centrifugal  force,"  '"  universal  gravitation,"  "move 
ments,"  "  electricity,"  "  vis  viva,"  and  so  on.  Probably 
some  few  of  these  titles  do  not  represent  actual  speeches 
at  all,  and  those  which  were  delivered  perhaps  had  little 
connection  with  their  nominal  subjects, — the  most  relia 
ble  thing  about  a  Wooden  Spoon  "  appointment"  being 
its  utter  want  of  reliability.  "Greek  Ode  —  Al  <llfvy 
Jtidie^  tv  IMS  fitaQdiv?  2^oo7s',"  which  was  "excused  on 
account  of  sickness"  ;  "  Oratio  Obliqua,  on  Young 
America" ;  "  Hairangue,  on  Whiskers,"  by  a  man  named 
Beard  ;  are  among  the  other  suggestive  titles  to  be 
noticed  upon  former  programmes. 

It  is  easy  to  observe  the  constant  changes  that  from 
first  to  last  kept  going  on  in  the  character  of  the  exhi 
bition.  Like  everything  else  of  the  sort,  it  grew  more 
and  more  formal.  Popularity  came  to  be  the  sole  thing 
thought  of  in  electing  the  Cochs,  while  the  former  prac 
tice  of  giving  prominent  positions  to  those  outside  their 
number  was  abandoned  altogether.  Hence  the  speeches 
became  reduced  to  three  :  the  salutatory,  intended  to  be 
comic,  and  the  address  of  presentation  and  reception, 
intended  to  be  matter-of-fact.  Even  these,  according  to 
common  belief,  were  privately  written  for  the  speakers  by 
their  wittier  friends.  But  the  old-time  comic  orations 
and  poems  and  dissertations  were  no  longer  possible, 
since  men  noted  for  producing  such  things  were  not 

19* 


4*8  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

chosen  on  the  Committee.  College  "  plays,"  "dramas,'' 
or  "  tragedies," — representing  the  different  phases  of 
student  life,  or  burlesquing  some  classic  author  read  by 
the  class, — written  for  the  occasion  by  some  Junior  not 
belonging  to  the  Committee,  were  latterly  the  chief  reli 
ance.  On  the  old  programmes  they  usually  came  under 
the  head  of  "  colloquies  "  or  "  disputes,"  and  they  were 
always  one  of  the  most  popular  features  of  the  show. 
The  Cochs  of  '68  first  introduced  upon  the  stage  the 
corner  sections  of  the  college  fence,  set-off  by  a  view  of 
the  college  yard  and  buildings  as  a  background.  A 
crowd  of  Juniors  stroll  in,  laughing  and  chatting,  perch 
themselves  on  the  fence,  and  sing  the  various  student 
songs ;  smoking  in  the  intervals,  and  of  course  keeping 
their  hats  on,  as  if  in  the  open  air,  upon  the  real  col 
lege  fence.  Perhaps  a  strolling  banjo  player  performs 
before  them,  or  "  Hannibal  "  tries  to  sell  his  caramels, 
or  "  Matches "  displays  himself,  or  Daniel  Pratt,  Jr., 
begins  a  political  speech  which  a  "  rush,"  bearing  him 
behind  the  scenes,  brings  to  a  sudden  close.  Any  one 
of  the  many  jolly  experiences  known  to  sitters  on  the 
fence  may  be  here  represented  for  the  improvement  of 
the  audience,  who  are  generally  kept  in  high  good 
humor  by  the,  to  them,  novel  peculiarities  of  these  vari 
ous  college  "  institutions." 

Ten  years  ago  the  cost  of  the  exhibition  was  said  to 
be  $300,  latterly  it  was  more  than  $1000, — half  of  which 
amount  was  perhaps  gained  by  the  sale  of  tickets  to  the 
Spoon  Promenade.  The  rest  was  raised  by  subscrip 
tion  among  the  Juniors,  in  amounts  varying  from  $5  to 
$25.  The  members  of  the  coalition  which  controlled 
the  election  were  expected  to  bear  most  of  the  burden, 
— though  the  defeated  party,  spite  of  their  loud  asser 
tions  at  election  time  that  they  would  "  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  exhibition,"  often  grow  generous  as  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4 * 9 

time  of  holding  it  drew  near.     Up  to  1857,  no   seats 
were  "  reserved  "  except  for  the  Cochs  of  the  previous 
year  and  their  friends,  and  the  friends  of  the  acting 
Committee, — meaning  by   "  friends  "   those   outside  of 
college.     Tickets  were  issued  to  all  the  undergraduate 
and  professional  students,  usually  without  limit  as  to 
number,  and  the  consequence  was  that  a  large  crowd 
assembled  a  full  hour  before  the  opening  of  the  doors, 
and  when  these  were  opened  made  a  wild  rush  for  the 
best  seats,  while  those  coming  last  thought  themselves 
lucky  if  they  gained  eligible  standing  places.     Latterly, 
all  the  seats  in  the  hall,  save  a  few  of  the  poorest  in  the 
back   gallery,    were    "reserved    for   the   guests  of  the 
class."      During   the    third    term    the    great    problem, 
among  the  Juniors  and  others  was,  How  to  procure 
good  seats  at  the  Wooden  Spoon  ?  and  among  the  Cochs, 
How  to  assign  the  seats  most  satisfactorily  ?     Of  course 
the  man  who  had  put  his  name  down  for  $10  or  $20  on 
the  subscription  list,  and  had   invited  his  "cousins''  or 
family  friends  to  the  show,  expected  "  as  good  seats  as 
anybody  had," — and    the    Cochs    needed   the  constant 
exercise  of  all  the  ingenuity  they  were  possessed  of  to 
reconcile   the   many  conflicting  interests   of  the  appli 
cants.     Next  after  the  Cochs  themselves,  and  their  pre 
decessors  of  last  year,  the  Juniors  were  first  attended 
to,  then   the  Seniors,  then  the   Sophomores  and  Fresh 
men  and  professional  students.     Simple  admission  tick 
ets, — a  "  gentleman's  "   and  a  "  lady's  " — were  given  to 
each  applicant  in  the  two  lower  classes,  and  it  was  not 
expected  that  Seniors  would  ask  for  reserved  seats,  un 
less  they  had  ladies   or  other  outside  friends  to  accom 
pany  them.     It  was  thought  rather  presumptuous  in  a 
Sophomore   to   ask   a  Coch   for  reserved  seats  for  his 
friends,  unless  he  was  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  a 
Freshman  who  should  have  done  so  would  have  been 


420  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

summarily  snubbed.  So  impossible  was  it  for  the  Cochs 
to  satisfy  more  than  a  small  portion  of  the  applicants,  that 
the  proposition  was  made,  within  a  few  years,  that  the 
choice  of  reserved  seats  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder, — 
the  Juniors  coming  first,  then  the  Seniors,  and  then  the 
rest  of  the  student  public  being  allowed  to  buy.  In 
this  way,  it  was  alleged,  a  profit  might  be  made  on  the 
exhibition,  the  necessity  of  subscription  papers  be  done 
away  with,  and  better  satisfaction  given  to  all  concerned. 
But  for  some  reason  the  plan  was  never  adopted. 

The  audience  at  the  Spoon  Presentation  was  the 
largest  and  most  brilliant  one  that  ever  assembled  at 
New  Haven.  Music  Hall,  which  is  said  to  be  capable 
of  holding  2500  or  3000  persons,  was  crowded,  to  its 
utmost  limits.  The  spacious  back  gallery,  and  the  side 
aisles  above  and  below,  were  choked  up  with  a  dense 
mass  of  humanity,  composed  of  the  poor  unfortunates 
whose  tickets  only  gave  them  leave  to  stand  wherever 
they  could  within  the  hall — a  thing  which  many  of 
them  used  to  do  for  four  mortal  hours.  It  of  course 
took  college  men  to  fully  appreciate  the  real  point  of 
much  which  was  said  and  done,  and  enter  heartily  into 
its  exquisite  humor  and  absurdity  ;  but  while  the  more 
subtle  shades  of  significance  escaped  all  but  the  ini 
tiated,  the  general  audience  comprehended  enough  of  it 
to  know  that  the  genuine  student  life  was  there  being 
acted  out  before  them,  as  never  at  a  set  literary  exhibi 
tion  directed  by  the  faculty,  and,  in  this  view,  they 
enjoyed  the  display  to  their  utmost.  The  superior 
music,  the  hearty  singing  of  jovial  college  songs,  and 
the  attractive  appearance  of  the  gayly-dressed  audience 
itself,  were  things  which  all  could  take  delight  in. 
Owing  to  the  shirking  of  preliminary  rehearsals,  the 
show  was  always  too  long,  rarely  closing  much  before 
midnight,  but  the  tiresome  delays,  as  inevitable  as  inex- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  42  J 

cusable,  were  submitted  to  with  wonderful  good  nature 
by  the  audience. 

As  for  the  Promenade  Concert  of  the  night  before,  of 
which  the  nine  Cochleaureati  were  the  managers,  it  far 
surpassed  anything  else  of  the  kind  ever  known  of  in 
the  city,  and,  like  the  Spoon  Exhibition  itself,  seemed 
each  year  to  attract  to  itself  more  and  more  of  beauty 
and  fashion.  Unlike  this,  however,  it  was  advertised 
about  town,  and  the  tickets  were  sold  by  the  managers, 
but  at  a  price  high  enough  to  ensure  a  select  attend 
ance,  which  was  naturally  for  the  most  part  limited  to 
those  having  a  more  or  less  direct  interest  in  the  college. 
The  friends  of  the  Cochs  and  of  the  junior  class,  of  the 
De  Forest  orators  and  of  the  senior  class,  all  those  from 
far  and  near  whom  the  varied  attractions  of  Presenta 
tion  Week  had  interested  in  the  students,  wrere  among 
the  possible  patrons  of  the  Spoon  Promenade.  This 
was  also  held  at  Music  Hall,  and  there  were  few  prettier 
sights  than  "the  floor"  used  to  present  at  half-past  ten 
or  eleven  o'clock,  when  alive  with  the  graceful  forms 
and  tasteful  costumes  of  the  dancers,  tripping  about  to 
the  time  of  exquisite  music.  The  galleries  of  course 
were  radiant  with  the  handsome  and  well-dressed  lookers 
on  ;  and  the  contrast  of  the  whole  to  the  dull  every-day 
scenes  of  a  student's  life,  in  chapel  or  lecture  room, 
was  indeed  a  refreshing  one.  The  tickets  were  elab 
orately  engraved  with  class  monograms,  spoon  orna 
ments,  and  the  like,  and  the  programmes  and  engage 
ment  lists  of  the  dancers  were  similarly  adorned,  bearing 
in  addition  the  names  of  the  managers.  The  pro 
grammes  distributed  among  the  audience,  however,  were 
of  the  plainest  possible  description. 

At  the  opening  of  the  fall  term  of  1870,  it  was  an 
nounced  that  the  time  of  holding  Presentation  Day  had 
been  changed  from  the  third  Wednesday  preceding  the 


422  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Thursday  of  Commencement  to  the  Tuesday  preceding 
that  Thursday  ;  and  the  report  in  some  way  got  into  the 
newspapers  that,  in  consequence  of  this  change  in  the 
college  calendar  and  condensation  of  the  doings  of  two 
weeks  into  one,  the  faculty  had  "  abolished "  the 
Wooden  Spoon  Presentation  and  Promenade.  This  was 
so  far  from  being  the  case  that  the  college  authorities 
had  never  even  so  much  as  recognized  the  existence  of 
the  institution,  by  passing  any  vote  whatever  concerning 
it.  But  the  change  in  the  calendar,  and  the  discussion 
brought  out  by  the  rumor,  and  the  remembrance  of  the 
disgraceful  intriguing  and  bitter  enmities  which  accom 
panied  the  election  of  Cochleaureati  by  '71,  combined 
to  induce  the  Juniors  of '72  to  abandon  the  custom  alto 
gether,  which,  at  a  meeting  held  December  3, — when  it 
was  announced  that  DKE  had  ordered  that  none  of  its 
members  should  accept  cochships, — they  voted  to  do, 
with  hardly  a  dissenting  voice.  Though  the  action  was 
a  surprise  to  the  college  as  well  as  the  class,  it  met  with 
such  a  general  endorsement  and  approbation  as  to  be 
accepted  as  final ;  and  the  Wooden  Spoon  Presentation, 
which,  a  year  ago,  seemed  in  the  very  hight  of  pros 
perity  and  success  as  an  established  college  institution, 
seems  now  as  completely  dead,  buried  and  forgotten, 
without  hope  of  resurrection,  as  the  Burial  of  Euclid 
itself.  In  January  it  was  voted  that  in  place  of  the 
Spoon  Promenade,  a  Regatta  Ball  be  held  on  the  even 
ing  of  Presentation  Day,  under  the  management  of  the 
president  of  the  Navy  and  a  committee  of  10  appointed 
by  him, — 2  from  each  academical  class  and  2  from  the 
Scientific  School ;  and  a  few  months  later  it  was  decided 
to  institute,  as  a  successor  to  the  Spoon  Exhibition 
proper,  under  the  auspices  of  the  officers  of  the  Navy 
and  University  ball  club,  a  public  dramatic  exhibition, 
on  the  evening  (Monday)  before  Presentation.  It  is 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  423 

expected  that  under  the  new  management — which  gives 
no  chance  for  "  politics " — both  these  entertainments 
will  be  at  least  as  successful  as  were  those  which  they 
supersede,  and  will  also  be  a  source  of  considerable 
income  for  the  maintenance  of  the  two  chief  sporting 
"  interests  "  of  college. 

A  few  society  statistics  may  serve  as  a  finale  to  the 
chapter.  Of  the  18  Commodores,  1853-70,  Keys  has  had 
8,  Bones  2,  Diggers  2,  and  Neutrals  6  ;  Psi  U  7,  DKE  7, 
and  Delta  Phi  4 ;  Delta  Kap  10,  Sigma  Eps  6,  Gamma 
Nu  i,  and  Sigma  Delta  i.  In  the  22  classes  represented 
between  '48  and  '71  there  have  been  205  individuals 
upon  the  Spoon  Committee,  including  the  first  two 
Spoon  Men  and  the  two  Cochs  of  '63  not  upon  the 
programme.  In  senior  year,  Keys  had  74  of  these, 
Bones  64,  other  societies  12,  while  55  were  neu 
trals.  In  junior  year  the  figures  have  been,  Psi  U  74, 
DKE  72,  Delta  Phi  45,  and  neutrals  14 ;  and  in 
freshman  year,  Delta  Kap  99,  Sigma  Eps  66,  Gamma 
Nu  15,  and  neutrals  25.  Of  the  Spoon  Men,  9  belonged 
to  Bones,  6  to  Keys,  and  7  were  senior  neutrals  ;  10 
belonged  to  DKE,  3  to  Delta  Phi,  7  to  Psi  U,  and  2 
were  junior  neutrals  ;  while  in  freshman  year  12  belonged 
to  Delta  Kap,  9  to  Sigma  Eps  and  i  to  Gamma  Nu.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  this  last  society  originated 
in  the  class  of  '59.  The  only  class  in  which  all  the 
Cochs  belonged  to  societies  without  break  was  that  of 
'64,  when  4  were  Bones  men  and  5  were  Keys  men  ; 
4  each  belonged  to  Psi  U  and  to  DKE,  and  i  to  Delta 
Phi ;  5  belonged  to  Delta  Kap,  3  to  Sigma  Eps,  and  i 
to  Gamma  Nu  ;  and  all  in  sophomore  year  were  mem 
bers  of  Sigma  Phi.  It  was  a  sort  of  proverb  with  the 
faculty  that  each  Spoon  Exhibition  dropped  one  of  the 
committee  from  his  class  j  yet  of  the  whole  number 
only  a  dozen  Cochs  have  failed  to  graduate,  two  of 
whom  were  Spoon  Men. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
SENIOR     YEAR. 

JOURNALISM — The  Yale  Literary  Magazine— Election  of  Editors- 
Initiation  Supper — Chi  Delta  Theta — Organization  and  Manage 
ment  of  the  Magazine — Its  Printers  and  Publishers — Mode  of 
Soliciting  Subscriptions — Number  of  Subscribers — Back  Num 
bers  and  Sets— Paying  the  Printer — The  Repudiated  Debt  of 
1858 — Collecting  Subscriptions — Profit  and  Loss — Advertise 
ments — The  Lit.  Prize  Medal — Class  and  Society  Connections  of 
the  Winners — Character  of  the  Medal  and  the  Essays — Typo 
graphical  Changes — Editorial  Independence  in  '64 — Theory  of 
After-Elections — The  Original  Literary  Ideal — Gradual  Growth 
of  the  Mirror-of-College-Life  Theory — Contributors  and  Contri 
butions — The  General  Index  of  1868 — Illustrations  and  Typog 
raphy — The  Position  of  Editor— Notable  Graduates  of  the  Lit. 
Office— Society  Statistics  of  the  Editors — Representative  Char 
acter  of  the  Magazine— Its  Predecessors  :  Literary  Cabinet 
Athenaeum,  Crayon,  Sitting  Room,  Student's  Companion,  Little 
Gentleman,  Gridiron,  Medley — The  Yale  Review,  and  Yale  Lit 
erary  Quidnunc — The  UniversityQuarterly — Its  Mode  of  Publica 
tion — Organization  of  the  Quarterly  Association — Names  of  the 
Colleges  Composing  It — The  Yale  Men  and  Their  Work — 
Editorial  Convention — Finances  and  Prizes — Credit  Due  the 
Publishers — The  Yale  Banner,  Pot  Pourri,  and  Other  Catalogues 
— Minor  Papers  and  Feuilletons  —  The  College  Courant  —  Its 
Humble  Origin  in  1865 — Change  of  Name  and  Management  in 
1867 — Advertisements  and  Typography  —  The  Undergraduate 
Editors— Their  Society  Connections— The  Original  Field  En 
larged—Contributors  and  Readers— Non-Representative  Char 
acter  of  the  Paper— The  new  Yale  Courant  of  the  Undergrad 
uates — CLASS  PICTURES  —  How  Procured — How  Distributed 
and  Exchanged — The  New  Plan — Origin  of  the  Custom — Vari 
eties  of  Pictures,  1841-70 — Class  Seals  and  Mottoes — Memora- 
bil  and  Its  Collectors— PRESENTATION  DAY — The  Original 
Formalities  —  As  Celebrated  in  1778  and  Afterwards  —  The 
Modern  Poem  and  Oration — Announcement  of  Prizes — -The 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  .  425 

Faculty's  Collation— Election  of  Orator  and  Poet— Course  of 
Senior  Politics  in  '69— Society  Statistics— General  Good  Feel 
ing—Plagiarism—Presentation  Afternoon— Class  Histories  and 
Historians— The  True  Test  of  College  Wit  and  Humor— Class 
Statistics— The  Ring  and  Triangle,  Under  the  Elms— Singing, 
an  Obsolete  Custom— Reading  the  Histories— Planting  the  Ivy- 
Cheering  the  College  Buildings  and  Professors— Saying  the  Last 
Farewell— History  of  the  Class  Ivies— Incidents  and  Accidents 
of  the  Day. 

Of  the  fifty  or  more  periodicals  now  regularly  pub 
lished  by  the  students  of  the  various  colleges,  less  than 
half  a  dozen  were  in  existence  when  the  class  of  '69 
began  its  career.  By  far  the  oldest  of  these  was  the 
Yale  Literary  Magazine^  popularly  known  as  "  the  Lit." 
which  was  then  in  its  3ist  volume.  It  was  established 
in  February,  1836,  through  the  exertions  of  William  T. 
Bacon  of  the  junior  class,  afterwards  editor  of  the  New 
Englander,  who  wrote  more  and  worked  harder  to  make 
the  first  volume  a  success  than  any  other  individual. 
The  five  original  editors,  chosen  by  and  from  the  class 
of '37,  were:  Edwin  O.  Carter,  Frederic  A.  Coe,  Wil 
liam  M.  Evarts,  Chester  S.  Lyman  and  William  S. 
Scarborough,  all  of  whom  have  since  won  honorable 
positions  in  the  world.  The  first  volume  contained  but 
6  numbers  and  ended  with  the  summer  term  ;  the  second 
began  with  the  new  academic  year  and  comprised  9 
numbers,  3  being  issued  each  term ;  and  this  mode  of 
publication  has  ever  since  been  retained.  January, 
August  and  September  are  now  the  months  which  are 
passed  over,  as  May,  September  and  October  formerly 
were.  The  first  board  of  editors  conducted  the  maga 
zine  for  a  year  and  a  third,  or  until  the  6th  number  of 
the  2d  volume;  the  second  board  ('38)  issued  the  last 
3  numbers  of  the  2d  volume  and  the  first  6  of  the  3d ; 
and  so  it  has  since  been  managed, — editors  "  chosen 
from  the  senior  class,"  as  advertised,  publishing  it  during 


426  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  first  two  terms  of  the  year,  and  those  from  the 
junior  class  during  the  last  term.  Each  board  of  editors 
elects  one  of  its  members  chairman,  and  he  on  the 
third  Wednesday  or  Saturday  of  the  second  term  calls 
a  meeting  of  the  junior  class  and  presides  over  the 
election  of  the  five  new  editors  from  among  their  num 
ber.  For  the  last  8  or  10  years  the  Cochleaureati  were 
chosen  at  the  same  meeting,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Wooden  Spoon  Man.  These  five  editors,  toward  the 
close  of  the  term,  give  a  supper  to  the  retiring  board, 
who  then  instruct  them  in  the  traditions  of  the  magazine 
and  surrender  its  "  archives  and  valuable  effects."  In 
1868,  the  old  Chi  Delta  Theta  triangle  was  revived,  and 
now  the  new  editors  are  regularly  initiated  into  that 
"  society"  and  presented  with  the  "  delta"  badge,  which 
they  wear  upon  their  watch  chains  during  the  year.  On 
the  reverse  of  the  badge  is  inscribed  "Yale  Lit.  1836," 
with  the  name  and  class  of  the  owner.  The  senior  edi 
tors  now  have  charge  of  the  supper,  procure  the  badges, 
etc.,  and  exact  an  initiation  fee  of  $20  to  cover  the 
expenses  of  the  same. 

Each  number  of  the  magazine  is  in  the  special  charge 
of  a  particular  editor.  The  chairman  always  has  the 
first  one  of  the  new  volume,  which  is  the  fourth  issued 
by  each  board,  and  the  other  four  editors  draw  lots  for 
the  remaining  eight,  usually  retaining,  in  the  second 
time  round,  the  order  given  by  chance  in  the  first  time. 
Thus,  the  ist  and  6th,  the  2cl  and  yth,  the  3d  and  Sth, 
the  5th  and  9th  numbers  of  each  board  (but  not  of  the 
volume)  generally  go  together.  In  the  five  boards,  '68 
to  '72,  the  treasurer  has  chanced  to  draw  the  two  latter 
numbers.  Each  editor  has  the  veto  power  over  his  own 
number,  and  a  majority  of  the  board  have  it  over  any 
of  the  numbers  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  majority  can  suppress 
an  article  which  a  particular  editor  wishes  to  publish 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  427 

in  his  number,  but  they  cannot  publish  anything  in  it 
which  he  wishes  to  suppress.  In  practice,  however,  each 
editor  has  very  nearly  absolute  control  of  his  number, 
as  his  associates  rarely  trouble  themselves  about  look 
ing  over  his  proofs  and  manuscripts  in  advance  of  their 
publication,  unless  specially  requested  to  do  so  ;  and 
general  meetings  of  the  entire  editorial  corps  are  quite 
uncommon.  Those  which  occur  are  usually  held  in  the 
room  of  the  chairman  who  calls  them.  They  were  for 
merly  quite  frequent,  and  by  some  boards  nothing  was 
published  which  had  not  been  read  and  approved  by 
each  of  the  five.  The  leading  article,  the  "  Editor's 
Table,"  and  until  within  a  few  years  the  "  Memorabilia" 
of  each  number,  were  supplied  by  the  editor  in  charge, 
who  signed  his  initials  to  the  first  mentioned.  Latterly, 
the  Memorabilia  for  the  entire  year  has  been  furnished 
by  a  single  one  of  the  editors. 

The  promised  size  of  the  Lit.  has  always  been  40 
octavo  pages,  yet  the  average  for  each  year  has  oftener 
exceeded  than  fallen  below  that  figure,  some  issues  going 
beyond  60  pages,  while  a  few  have  fallen  to  hardly  more 
than  half  as  many.  In  the  old  days,  when  postage 
depended  upon  the  number  of  sheets  in  the  magazine, 
"  even  forms"  were  not  so  rare  as  now.  The  cover, 
with  many  varying  shades  in  color,  has  been  from  the 
first  a  sort  of  brownish  red,  and  a  full-length,  wood-cut 
portrait  of  Governor  Yale  has  always  adorned  it,  in  con 
nection  with  the  complimentary  distich  : 

"  Dum  mens  grata  manet,  nomen  laudesque  YAI.ENSES 
Cantabunt  SOBOLES,  unanimique  PATRES." 

The  first  7  volumes  were  printed  by  B.  L.  Hamlen,  the 
next  15  by  T.  J.  Stafford,  and  the  rest  (1858-71)  by 
Tuttle,  Morehouse  £  Taylor.  The  first  5  volumes  were 
published  by  B.  &  W.  Noyes,  and  the  next  3  "  by  the 
editors,"  who  then  held  an  office  of  their  own,  on  Chapel 


42^  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

street,  opposite  the  college  yard.  Then  A.  H.  Maltby 
acted  as  publisher  for  10  years,  except  that  Vol.  xii. 
was  published  by  Horace  Day  and  T.  H.  Pease,  and 
part  of  the  following  volume  by  the  latter.  Vol.  xix. 
was  "  published  by  the  editors"  again.  Then  for  the 
next  5  years  T.  H.  Pease  was  a  second  time  the  pub 
lisher,  until  in  June,  1859,  he  was  superseded  by  the 
College  Bookstore.  The  old  imprint,  u  Published  by  the 
Editors"  was  restored  by  '69,  and  will  doubtless  be 
retained  hereafter  as  most  truly  expressing  the  facts  of 
the  case.  The  College  Bookstore  remained  the  agency 
through  which  the  magazine  was  delivered  to  sub 
scribers,  until  the  advent  of  the  board  of  '72,  who  trans 
ferred  it  to  Hoadley's,  and  there  are  two  other  news 
rooms  in  town  where  single  copies  are  kept  on  sale. 
The  various  booksellers  who  formerly  acted  as  "  pub 
lishers" — with  the  possible  exception  of  the  first  two — 
were  really  little  more  than  distributing  agents ;  all  the 
burdensome  details  of  publication  falling  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  editors,  the  same  as  at  present. 

Besides  the  chairman,  whose  duty  it  is  to  manage  the 
Advertiser,  each  board  elects  a  treasurer,  who  specially 
attends  to  the  collection  of  the  money  due  on  subscrip 
tions  and  otherwise.  It  is  intended  that  the  support  of 
every  undergraduate  shall  be  individually  solicited,  and 
to  each  editor  is  assigned  the  duty  of  canvassing  a  fifth 
part  of  every  class.  His  own  and  the  two  classes  below 
it  are  electioneered  in  advance  during  the  summer  term, 
leaving  only  the  Freshmen  to  be  spoken  to  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year.  Until  lately,  it  was  customary  for  the  editors 
to  enter  the  division  rooms  of  the  lower  classes  at  the 
close  of  the  noon  recitation,  present  the  claims  of  the 
magazine,  and  obtain  subscribers'  names  ;  and,  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  enterprise,  it  was  the  practice  to  hold 
an  evening  meeting  in  the  Chapel,  to  which  the  college 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  429 

and  especially  the  Freshmen  were  invited  by  printed 
posters  and  circulars,  for  the  purpose  of  "hearing  a  few 
words  in  regard  to  the  college  magazine,"  and  listening 
to  elaborate  orations  from  "  well  known  speakers  in  the 
senior  class."  In  proportion  to  its  numbers,  this  latter 
class  furnishes  the  most  subscribers,  though  that  portion 
of  it  outside  the  coalition  which  elects  its  editors  some 
times  refuses  to  support  the  magazine.  With  a  thorough 
canvass,  three  fourths  of  college  could  be  made  to  sub 
scribe,  but  in  reality  only  about  300  do  so,  and  some 
few  of  these  finally  fail  to  pay.  An  edition  of  500  is 
always  printed,  however,  and  what  with  exchanges,  and 
free  copies  sent  to  the  outside  friends  of  the  editors, 
and  the  sales  of  single  numbers,  there  are  rarely  more 
than  a  tenth  of  them  left  over  to  store  away  for  the 
future.  The  editors  are  allowed  the  use  of  a  portion  of 
that  division  of  the  Library  formerly  held  by  the  Calliope 
society,  and  thither  they  transfer  the  copies  not  other 
wise  disposed  of,  and  have  them  duly  labeled  and 
arranged  upon  the  shelves. 

The  back  numbers  now  held  by  the  editors  represent 
only  a  little  more  than  half  which  have  been  issued, 
comprising  none  of  the  first  9  volumes,  and  only  9  com 
plete  volumes  of  the  entire  36.  Full  sets  of  the  Lit.  are 
quite  rare,  only  about  a  dozen  being  certainly  known 
to  exist.  Of  these,  three  or  four  are  possessed  by  the 
college  libraries,  one  by  each  of  the  senior  societies,  one 
by  the  British  Museum,  and  the  remainder  by  private 
individuals.  Any  one  of  these  could  hardly  be  replaced 
at  a  less  cost  than  $200.  The  original  price  of  the 
magazine  was  $2  per  volume,  which  is  still  the  charge 
for  back  numbers ;  at  present  it  is  $3 — a  figure  reached 
by  half-dollar  approaches,  during  the  last  ten  years,  in 
which  the  costs  of  publication  have  doubled.  The 
prices  of  single  numbers  have  been  25  and  35  cents. 


43°  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Something  like  $2  per  page  of  letterpress  is  paid  the 
present  printers,  with  whom  each  board  makes  an  inde 
pendent  bargain,  usually  to  the  effect  that  the  first 
number  shall  be  paid  for  before  the  close  of  the  summer 
term,  the  3  following  ones  before  the  issue  of  the  5th, 
and  each  one  after  that,  before  the  next  is  issued.  At 
all  events  each  board  becomes  responsible  for  the  pay 
ment  of  the  9  numbers  which  they  issue,  and  for  no 
others ;  and  the  printers  have  never  been  defrauded. 
When  Mr.  Stafford  was  printer,  on  the  other  hand,  each 
board  inherited  the  "  debt "  of  its  predecessors,  which 
naturally  continued  to  grow  each  year,  until  in  1858  it 
amounted  to  some  $1500,  which  was  then  and  there 
repudiated, — the  '59  editors  going  to  another  printing 
office,  and  the  '58  men  of  course  refusing  to  settle  an 
obligation  which  they  themselves  had  never  incurred. 
In  the  records  of  some  of  the  triennial  meetings  mention 
is  made  of  payment  of  the  class's  Lit.  debt  among  the 
regular  items  of  the  tax  levy.  The  loss  to  the  printer 
was  rather  nominal  than  actual,  however,  as  he  of  course 
had  foreseen  what  the  end  of  his  "debt"  must  be,  and  had 
"  made  himself  good  "  in  anticipation  thereof,  by  charging 
exorbitant  rates  for  his  work. 

Wednesday  or  Saturday  afternoon  is  the  usual  time 
of  issuing  the  magazine,  its  appearance  being  announced 
by  printed  "  tables  of  contents  "  posted  about  the  col 
lege  yard  and  at  the  various  bookstores.  The  treasurer, 
or  the  editor  who  "gets  out"  the  number,  takes  his 
position  in  the  College  Bookstore, — or,  rather,  at  Hoad- 
ley's, — and  as  he  deals  out  the  Lits.  to  the  applicants 
who  crowd  around,  he  checks  off  their  names  on  the 
subscription  book,  collecting  meanwhile  as  many  unpaid 
subscriptions  as  possible.  These  are  of  course  due  in 
advance,  and  unless  collected  by  the  end  of  the  second 
term,  they  are  mostly  give  up  as  hopeless.  Each  editor 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  43 l 

is  expected  to  do  "  his  fifth  "  of  the  work  of  collection, 
but  the  chief  part  of  it  naturally  falls  upon  the  treas 
urer,  who,  every  month  after  the  beginning  of  the  volume, 
regularly  "  chases  up  "  enough  delinquent  subscribers  to 
pay  the  current  printer's  bill.  The  only  income  of  a  new- 
board  during  its  first  term  is  from  its  advertisements 
and  the  sale  of  single  copies,  as  it  is  bound  to  supply 
the  last  three  numbers  of  the  volume  to  the  subscribers 
who  have  paid  their  money  to  its  predecessor.  The 
magazine  is  sent  free  to  each  editor  for  a  year  after  his 
graduation,  and  two  copies  are  likewise  given  to  the  Lib; 
rary.  Instead  of  "exchanging"  through  the  mail,  each  Lit. 
editor  takes  his  Courant,  and  each  Courant  editor  his 
Lit.  Originally,  most  members  of  the  faculty  were 
either  honorary  or  paying  subscribers  to  the  magazine, 
and  it  had  numerous  patrons  among  the  graduates  and 
professional  students.  Now  its  sole  reliance  is  upon  the 
undergraduates,  its  outside  supporters  not  numbering 
more  than  a  baker's  dozen,  all  told.  An  editorial  board 
congratulate  themselves  if  at  the  end  of  their  term  they 
can  pay  all  their  bills  without  being  individually  $10  or 
$20  out  of  pocket.  Yet  with  good  management  a  profit 
might  be  made  from  the  publication,  as  was  proved  by 
the  experience  of  the  '69  editors,  who  cleared  $160, 
though  they  published  a  third  more  matter  than  their 
immediate  predecessors,  and  incurred  an  expense 
($1260)  much  greater  than  that  of  any  previous  board. 
Considerable  income  is  derived  from  the  Advertiser,  to 
which  a  dozen  pages  or  more  are  commonly  devoted. 
The  price  is  as  low  as  $5  or  $6  a  page,  and  for 
those  who  would  address  simply  the  "  students  of  Yale 
college,"  this  is  by  all  odds  the  cheapest  advertising 
medium  open,  as  there  is  scarcely  a  man  of  them  who 
does  not  at  least  "  look  over  "  the  Yale  Lit. 

Quite  an  item  of  expense  is  the  very  liberal  prize — 


432  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

"a  gold  medal  valued  at  $25 — annually  offered  by  the 
editors  to  their  undergraduate  subscribers,  for  the  best 
written  essay.  Manuscripts  must  be  sent  in — through 
the  post-office^  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  the  board, 
with  the  writer's  name  enclosed  in  a  sealed  envelope, — 
before  a  specified  day  in  the  fall  term,  usually  about  a 
month  after  its  commencement.  The  decision  of  the 
judges  is  announced  a  few  weeks  later.  There  are  two 
graduates — commonly  members  of  the  faculty — chosen 
by  the  editors,  and  the  chairman  of  the  board.  Though 
this  "  medal  "  is  double  the  value  of  the  highest  compo 
sition  prize  awarded  by  the  faculty,  and  is  open  to  every 
undergraduate,  there  are  seldom  more  than  half  a  dozen 
competing  manuscripts,  and  it  is  believed  that  there 
have  never  been  over  twice  that  number.  The  prize 
was  first  offered  by  the  editors  of  '51,  and,  as  it  was 
"split"  in  '66,  there  have  been  in  all  22  awards;  of 
which  10  have  fallen  to  Seniors,  10  to  Juniors  and  2  to 
Sophomores.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  men 
who  offer  the  prize  are  supposed  to  be  the  "five  best 
writers  "  of  the  Seniors,  while  the  Juniors  or  Sopho 
mores  who  take  it  increase  thereby  their  chances  of 
being  themselves  elected  to  the  editorial  board  of  the 
class.  As  for  societies,  Bones  has  taken  1 1  of  the  medals, 
Keys  3,  and  neutrals  8  ;  Delta  Phi  3,  Psi  U  n,  DKE 
6  and  neutrals  2  ;  Sigma  Eps  7,  Delta  Kap  9,  and 
Gamma  Nu  6. 

The  medal  awarded  by  the  editors  of  '52  was 
described  as  being  "  of  circular  form,  nearly  two  inches 
in  diameter,  with  its  edges  elaborately  chased.  On  the 
obverse,  surrounding  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  college 
Library  are  the  words  :  '  Awarded  to  Andrew  D.  White, 
Merito  ac  Jure,  Yale  College,  1851.'  On  the  reverse  a 
balance  is  represented  in  which  the  pen  weighs  down 
the  sword,  beneath  the  cap  of  Liberty.  Around  this 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  433 

are  the  words,  '  Yale  Literary  Magazine,  Meriti  Praemi- 
um.' "  This  is  the  only  actual  "medal"  of  which  men 
tion  has  ever  been  made, — $25  in  money  being  pre 
ferred  by  most  and  perhaps  by  all  of  the  other  recipi 
ents.  The  editors  of  '67  and  '68,  and,  in  fact,  a 
majority  of  their  predecessors,  really  gave  the  success 
ful  essayist  neither  medal  nor  money ;  and  in  some  pre 
vious  years  it  was  spoken  of  as  "  customary  "  for  the 
man  who  took  the  prize  to  spend  the  most  or  all  of  it 
in  giving  a  "  treat "  to  the  editors  by  whom  it  was  con 
ferred  ;  but  the  editors  of  '69  and  their  successors  have 
honestly  paid  the  cash.  The  essay  is  usually  printed  in 
the  first  number  of  the  magazine  issued  after  the  award, 
and  its  subject — chosen  by  the  writer — is  almost  always 
the  life  or  writings  of  a  particular  author,— "Thoreau," 
"  Hawthorne,"  "  Frederic  W.  Robertson,"  "  Napoleon's 
Casar"  "  Shakespeare's  Sir  John  Fahtaff"  being  recent 
examples.  Perhaps  the  very  fact  that  the  honor  of 
taking  the  medal  is  considered  such  a  high  one,  explains 
why  there  are  so  few  competitors  for  it ;  none  but 
writers  of  repute  thinking  they  have  any  chance  of  suc 
cess. 

The  editors'  names  were  first  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  Lit.  in  1852.  Before  that  time  they  usually  appeared 
but  once, — when  appended  to  the  valedictory  address 
in  the  6th  number  of  the  volume.  In  1869,  fac-simile 
autographs  were  signed  to  this  "  Editors'  Farewell,"  and 
the  present  year  it  was  dispensed  with  altogether. 
Originally  the  yth  number  of  the  volume  was  introduced 
by  a  formal  salutatory,  "  To  our  Readers," — the  custom 
being  last  observed  by  '59, — but  this  was  usually  signed 
simply  "  Your  Editors,"  though  the  names  were  some 
times  indicated.  The  prospectus  on  the  last  page  of 
the  cover  varied  a  little  every  year  up  to  1851,  but 
adhered  closely  to  that  put  forth  by  the  original  editors, 

20 


434  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

so  far  as  it  defined  the  policy  of  the  magazine.  The 
prospectus  adopted  by  '52  remained  essentially  un 
changed  for  17  years,  and  that  now  published  was 
devised  by  '69.  With  the  34th  volume  was  also  intro- . 
duced  the  plan  of  indicating  the  "whole  number  "of 
issues,  at  the  top  of  every  left-hand  page.  Thus,  "  Vol. 
xxxvi,  No.  ix  "  (July,  1871),  is  "  No.  321  "  of  the  entire 
series.  Tardiness  and  irregularity  in  publishing  the 
numbers  have  been  somewhat  common, — perhaps  the 
worst  example  being  in  1858  when  the  board  of  that  year 
did  not  publish  its  last  (May)  number  until  July,  when 
the  '59  editors  had  already  put  forth  two  issues  !  This 
accounts  for  the  repetition  in  the  paging  of  one  or  two 
forms  in  that  volume.  It  will  be  remembered  that  No. 
6  of  Vol.  xxiii  was  the  last  Lit.  printed  by  Mr.  Stafford, 
and  doubtless  the  repudiation  of  "  that  debt  "  had  a 
close  connection  with  the  extraordinary  delay.  In  Vol. 
xxvii  there  was  no  regular  "  No.  6," — the  '62  editors 
printing  their  farewell  in  the  March  number,  which  was 
the  8th  issued  by  them  and  the  5th  of  the  volume,  and 
the  board  of  '63  beginning  in  June  with  "No.  7,"  to 
which  was  appended  a  note  to  the  effect  that  the  March 
issue  was  a  to  be  considered  a  "double  number." 

The  history  of  the  three  "second  issues"  of  1864 
has  been  given  in  another  chapter  (p.  165).  They  are 
usually  bound  in  at  the  close  of  Vol.  xxix.,  as  a  sort  of 
supplement  to  the  regular  work,  but  the  original  one  of 
the  three  varieties  of  "  No.  4  "  is  never  to  be  met  with. 
The  '65  editors  invited  to  the  customary  supper  the  five 
^nembers  of  the  original  board,  but  the  two  seceders  of 
of  course  did  not  accept  "that  honor."  The  new  edi 
tors  likewise  adapted  their  paging  to  that  of  the  regular 
rather  than  of  the  second  issue,  and  of  course  ignored 
the  latter  in  their  "  table  of  contents  "  of  the  volume, 
published  at  the  end  of  the  year ;  whereupon  the  ex- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  435 

members  of  the  second  board  issued  another  table  of 
contents,  in  which  the  titles  of  the  second  issues  were 
indicated  and  those  of  the  corresponding  regular  ones 
were  omitted.     During  the  quarrel,  the  Lit.  was  "  entered 
according  to  Act  of  Congress   in   the  district  court  of 
Connecticut/'  in  the  names  of  each  of  the   rival  pub 
lishers, — the    second    board    styling   themselves,    "  the 
agents  and  trustees  of  the  class  of  '64."     The  action  of 
the  class  in  this  matter  was  plainly  illegal  and  unjust. 
The  theory  on  which  the  Lit.  has  always  been  managed 
is  this  :  that  when  a  class  has  once  elected  its  board  of 
editors,  at  the   call   of  the   chairman  of  the  preceding 
board,  it  has  done  its  whole  duty,  and  can  control  the 
magazine  no  further.     It  has  no   right   to  expel  editors 
for  misdemeanor,  or  to  full  up  vacancies  occasioned  by 
death    or   resignation,  except  by  request    of  the    rest. 
Once   in  office,   the  editors  must  settle   their  quarrels 
among  themselves,  and  can  submit  to  no  outside  inter 
ference.     Only  three   resignations  have  been  followed 
by  special  class  elections  :  one   each  in   '41,  in  '47  and 
in  '58, — the  second  case  being  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  a  man  who  refused — out  of  society  considerations — 
to  accept  the  office  at  all.     The  name  of  the  man  who, 
according  to   the  Banner  list,  was  chosen   in  place  of 
him,  was  not   signed   to  the  editors'  farewell,  however, 
although  he  graduated  with  his  class.     There  has  been 
no  case  of  editorial  withdrawal  since  '62,  and  the  chance 
is  not  a  common  one  ;  yet  when  it   happens  the  best 
and  usual  course   is  for  the  remaining  editors  to  do  the 
additional  work  themselves,  rather  than  call  upon  the 
class  to   fill   the  vacancy.     Of  course  the  editors  them 
selves  have  no  power  to  elect  an  associate,  even  if  they 
desire  to:    but   the  class  cannot  do  it  except  with  their 
consent. 

In  a  modest  prospectus,  the  founders  of  the  magazine 


436  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

thus  defined  their  position  :  "To  foster  a  literary  spirit 
and  to  furnish  a  medium  for  its  exercise  ;  to  rescue  from 
utter  waste  the  many  thoughts  and  musings  of  a  stu 
dent's  leisure  hours  ;  and  to  afford  some  opportunity  to 
train  ourselves  for  the  strife  and  collision  of  mind  which 
we  must  expect  in  after  life — such  and  similar  motives 
have  urged  us  to  this  undertaking."  The  "  Epilegomena" 
began  with  the  second  year  and  ran  through  a  half- 
dozen  volumes  or  more ;  after  the  6th  alternating  with 
the  "  Editor's  Table,"  which  finally  superseded  it  alto 
gether.  Both  were  alike  save  in  name,  and  formed  the 
only  relief  to  the  "heavy  literary"  portion  of  the  maga 
zine.  They  were  made  up  of  that  sort  of  "sanctum 
literature "  which  flourished  in  the  days  of  the  old 
Knickerbocker,  after  which  magazine,  by  the  bye,  the  Lit. 
seems  in  great  measure  to  have  patterned  itself.  Aside 
from  the  Table,  at  which  the  editors  under  assumed 
names  ("  the  Corporal,"  "  the  Doctor,"  "  Meerschaum," 
"  Mishkan,"  and  "  Shanghai "  were  the  ones  in  vogue 
for  several  years)  carried  on  imaginary  conversation 
with  each  other,  which  were  intended  to  be  very  witty 
and  amusing,  —  and  perhaps  they  did  entertain  their 
readers,  for  older  heads,  it  is  said,  used  to  take  delight 
in  the  similar  platitudes  of  the  Knickerbocker  and  its 
compeers, — the  Lit.  was  entirely  made  up  of  "  essays," 
"tales,"  "poems,"  and  "  sketches,"  having  no  connec 
tion  with  college  life  or  customs.  The  editors  of  '49 
were  the  first  who  conceived  the  idea  that  the  true  mis 
sion  of  the  magazine  was  to  serve  as  "  a  mirror  of  college 
life,"  and  their  successors  of '52  most  heartily  endorsed 
this  principle.  Prof.  D.  C.  Gilman  of  this  board  has 
the  credit  of  instituting  the  "Memorabilia  Yalensia," 
though  the  name  was  suggested  by  Prof.  Kingsley. 
Under  this  head  were  to  be  given  each  month  "a  record 
of  all  the  current  events  of  college  life,  together  with 


THE    STUDENT  LIFE.  437 

occasional  historical  and  statistical  papers  in  regard  to 
the  institution."  The  latter  part  of  the  plan  has  since 
been  abandoned, — such  papers  being  now  published  in 
the  body  of  the  magazine, — but  the  Memorabilia  has 
always  been  its  best  read  and  most  valuable  department. 
Since  '69  introduced  the  practice  of  having  a  single  one 
of  the  editors'  furnish  this  monthly  record  during  the 
entire  year,  it  has  been  better  arranged  and  more  fully 
classified  than  ever  before,  and  its  condensed  epitome 
of  events  now  forms  the  most  complete  and  connected 
account  of  current  life  at  Yale  that  can  be  obtained.  If 
graduates  could  be  made  to  realize  the  fact,  it  seems 
likely  that  many  would  become  subscribers. 

Since  the  mirror-of-college-life  theory  was  first 
broached,  every  board  of  editors  who  have  expressed  an 
opinion  have  spoken  in  favor  of  it,  save  only  the  men  of 
'6 1,  who  wanted  the  Lit's  articles  to  be  "  distinctively 
literary,"  and  struck  from  the  prospectus  the  words 
"local,  spirited  and  humorous,"  which  from  '52  onwards 
had  seemed  desirable  adjectives  for  student  writing  to 
boast  of.  In  spite  of  this  apparent  unanimity  of  edi 
torial  sentiment,  however,  in  favor  of  the  common  sense 
demand  that  Lit.  writers  should  restrict  themselves  to 
the  microcosm  wherein  they  and  its  readers  are  inter 
ested,  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  rambling  off  into 
the  "vague  illimitable  perspective."  the  abstract  realms 
of  "truth,  justice  and  the  eternal  verities,"  where  prize 
compositions  and  disputations  love  to  disport  themselves. 
These  compositions,  even,  have  been  too  often  published, 
in  lack  of  better  "  copy  "  ;  while  the  "  De  Forest  ora 
tion  "  and  one  or  two  of  the  "  Townsend  essays  "  are 
regularly  issued  in  the  last  number  of  the  volume. 
Originally,  all  five  of  the  latter  loaded  down  the  pages 
of  a  single  Lit.  "  Conducted  by  the  students  of  Yale 
College "  is  the  phrase  upon  the  covers,  which  has 


438  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

never  once  varied  since  February,  1836.  Everything  is 
written  by  undergraduates,— in  which  respect  the  maga 
zine  is  almost  if  not  quite  unique  among  college 
periodicals.  In  the  old  times,  this  rule  was  once  in  a 
while  infringed  upon,  though  rarely  without  special  in 
dication  of  and  apology  for  the  fact.  "  Contributions 
are  solicited  through  the  post  office/'  yet  very  few  are 
received  in  this  way ;  most  of  the  articles  not  written 
by  the  editors,  being  furnished  by  their  friends  or 
acquaintances,  in  response  to  a  personal  application  for 
them.  Of  the  22  contributors  to  Vol.  xxxiv.,  aside 
from  the  10  editors,  15  were  from  '69,  5  from  '70,  and  i 
each  from  '71  and  '72. 

Initials  are  perhaps  generally  signed  to  the  articles, 
though  the  usage  greatly  varies,  but  the  pseudonyms  and 
fancy  signatures  once  in  vogue  are  never  now  used.  To 
a  prize  essay,  the  author's  name  and  residence  is  gener 
ally  prefixed  in  full.  In  some  years  the  names  of  the 
writers  were  indicated  in  the  list  of  articles  always 
printed  on  the  inner  cover  of  each  number  ;  other 
editors  appended  them  to  the  titles  in  the  table-of-con- 
tents  for  the  volume,  published  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
This,  with  title-page,  has  always  been  issued, — though 
usually  without  much  attempt  at  completeness.  The 
index  prepared  for  Vol.  xxxiv.,  however,  extended  over 
8  pages  and  comprised  some  600  references,  separate 
alphabets  being  given  to  "  prose,"  "  verse,"  "  premium 
articles,"  "  memorabilia,"  "  minor  topics,  "  "  editor's 
table,"  "  books  noticed,"  and  "  contributors,"  and  the 
same  plan  will  doubtless  be  retained  hereafter.  It  was 
divised  by  the  same  '69  editor  who,  the  year  before,  com 
piled  "  an  index  to  the  first  33  volumes,  from  February, 
1836  to  July,  1868,"  and  issued  it  on  the  i5th  of  the 
latter  month.  This  was  a  pamphlet  of  36  double- 
columed  pages,  comprising  6000  or  7000  references, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  439 

divided  between  three  principal  alphabets,  "prose," 
"verse,"  and  "memorabilia."  The  edition  was  300 
copies,  and  the  compiler,  by  disposing  of  about  two 
thirds  of  them,  at  a  half-dollar  each,  to  undergraduate 
subscribers,  managed  to  pay  his  printer's  bill  with  only 
a  slight  loss  to  himself.  This  index  also  contained  lists 
of  the  editors,  "Townsend,"  "De  Forest,"  and  "Lit. 
Medal "  men,  and  of  the  "  illustrations  "  which  formely 
figured  in  the  magazine.  Between  the  4th  and  i2th 
volumes  there  were  published  steel  engraved  portraits 
of  the  Reverends  George  Berkeley  and  David  Daggett, 
Presidents  Day  and  Woolsey,  Professors  Goodrich, 
Kingsley,  and  Olmstead  ;  and  views  of  the  "  College  in 
1845  "  a°d  of  tne  Library, — a  single  board  rarely  pro 
curing  more  than  one  plate,  though  some  were  twice 
used.  The  portraits  were  accompanied  by  biographical 
sketches,  and  the  last  which  appeared,  being  the  only 
one  not  already  mentioned,  was  that  of  N.  P.  Willis  in 
1858.  A  fac-simile  sketch  of  the  "College  in  1786" 
was  twice  inserted,  and  minor  woodcuts  have  in  three 
instances  garnished  the  Editor's  Table.  The  paper  and 
typography  have  always  been  good,  but  are  now 
unusually  excellent,  the  former  being  of  the  extra  "  laid 
and  tinted "  quality  used  in  fine  book-work,  and  the 
latter  the  "  Old  Franklin  "  style  now  grown  so  common 
again.  Small  pica  for  the  body  of  the  magazine,  long 
primer  for  the  Memorabilia,  and  brevier  for  the  Editor's 
Table,  are  the  sizes  of  type  now  used.  The  editors 
do  their  own  proof-reading,  and  attend  to  it  more 
carefully  now  than  formerly,  but  minor  typographi 
cal  errors  are  still  to  be  noticed.  Besides  all  of 
the  student  periodicals,  many  important  journals 
regularly  exchange  with  the  Lit.,  and  publishers  often 
forward  books  for  review.  Each  editor  has  charge  of 
everything  received,  through  the  post-office  or  other- 


44°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

wise,  during  the  month  before  his  magazine  is  issued : 
afterwards  he  turns  over  all  accumulations  to  the  chair 
man,  who  keeps  them  till  the  end  of  the  editorial  term, 
when  the  spoils  are  divided  among  the  editors.  Most 
of  the  college  journals,  however,  if  preserved  at  all,  are 
then  given  to  the  Library. 

When  a  class  chooses  its  editors,  it  usually  selects  the 
five  whom  it  considers  its  "  best  literary  men," — assum 
ing  to  be  such  those  who  have  taken  the  highest  com 
position  prizes  and  have  succeeded  best  in  prize  debate, 
— without  regard  to  those  special  editorial  and  business 
qualifications  no  less  necessary  for  the  proper  publication 
of  a  magazine.  The  editors,  on  the  other  hand,  are  apt 
to  regard  the  office  as  a  sort  of  honorary  position — 
given  them  in  recognition  of  their  previous  triumphs — 
where  they  may  rest  upon  their  laurels.  Their  reputa 
tion  being  already  established,  they  do  not  exert  them 
selves  to  better  it  by  working  faithfully  at  their  duties. 
The  mere  honor  attaching  to  the  name  of  Lit.  editor  is 
what  attracts  them,  especially  for  its  helping  their 
chances  of  a  senior-society  election,  but  the  idea  of 
making  the  office  honorable  by  their  mode  of  filling  it 
does  not  often  occur  to  them.  As  applied  to  the  pres 
ent,  however,  these  remarks  should  be  understood  as 
representing  hardly  more  than  a  tendency,  though  liter 
ally  true,  six  years  ago.  Spite  of  political  wire-pulling 
and  society  connections  and  prospects,  which  sometimes 
keep  good  men  out  and  bring  poor  ones  in,  it  is  very 
generally  true  that  each  class  puts  its  "  five  best  literary 
men"  upon  the  editorial  board,  in  the  same  sense  that  it 
used  to  elect  its  "nine  most  popular"  ones  upon  the 
Spoon  Committee.  It  happens,  too,  that  good  editors 
are  sometimes  numbered  among  the  good  writers,  and 
there  are  several  respectable  journalists  who  served  their 
first  apprenticeship  in  the  office  of  "  the  oldest  college 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  44 1 

periodical."  Among  these  may  be  mentioned,  Donald 
G.  Mitchell,  '41,  late  of  Hearth  and  Home,  B.  Gratz 
Brown,  '47,  late  of  the  Missouri  Democrat,  Charles  G. 
Came,  '49,  of  the  Boston  Journal,  Ellis  H.  Roberts,  '50, 
of  the  Utica  Heral4,  Charlton  T.  Lewis,  '53,  of  the  N. 
Y.  Evening  Post,  and  William  H.  W.  Campbell,  '56,  of 
the  Norwich  Bulletin.  A  dozen  or  more  younger  grad 
uates  of  the  Lit.  have  also  adopted  the  profession. 
Among  other  notable  ex-editors  are  :  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  P. 
Thompson  of  '38,  Senator  Orris  S.  Ferry  of  '44,  Judge 
Francis  M.  Finch  of  '49,  Prof.  Homer  B.  Sprague  of  '52, 
President  Andrew  D.  White  of  '53,  the  late  Dr.  John  W. 
Hooker  of '54,  Rev.  John  M.  Holmes  of '57,  Dr.  Daniel 
G.  Brinton  of  '58,  and  Dr.  George  M.  Beard  of  '62. 

All  but  one  of  the  original  editors  were  Bones  men — 
that  one  being  the  founder  of  Delta  Phi — and  there 
were  16  Bones  men  in  the  first  5  boards.  In  the  31 
classes,  '42  to  71,  there  were,  including  2  after-elections 
and  the  3  pseudo  editors  of  '64,  155  editors  of  the  mag 
azine,  of  whom  94  belonged  to  Bones,  17  to  Keyes,  and 
the  rest  were  neutrals,  save  the  5  Diggers  in  the  second 
board  of  '64.  In  the  first  three  classes,  there  were  7 
Delta  Phi  men  ;  of  the  2 1  editors,  '46  to  '43,  6  were 
members  of  Delta  Phi,  14  of  Psi  U,  and  one  was  a 
neutral;  while  of  the  150  editors,  '44  to  '72,  42  belonged 
to  Delta  Phi,  55  to  Psi  U,  43  to  DKE,  and  10  were  neu 
trals.  For  the  5  years  previous  to  '49,  Sigma  Eps 
claimed  9  of  the  26  editors  ;  during  the  next  10  classes 
Sigma  Eps  had  18  and  Delta  Kap  32  ;  while  of  the  73, 
'59  to  '72,  Sigma  Eps  had  29,  Delta  Kap  27,  Gamma 
Nu  1 6.  There  have  been  only  3  boards  entirely  com 
posed  of  Bones  men,  and  only  4  others  in  which  there 
have  been  no  senior  neutrals.  Bones  has  been  repre 
sented  on  every  board,  and  by  more  than  one  member 
save  in  a  single  instance,  but  Keys  has  had  no  men  on 

20* 


442  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

18  out  of  the  30  boards  since  '41.  Since  '44,  Delta  Phi 
has  been  5  times  unrepresented,  Psi  U  4  times,  and 
DKE  7  times,  while  the  junior  neutrals  have  been  unrep 
resented  on  all  but  7  boards.  Since  '59,  Delta  Kapand 
Gamma  Nu  have  each  been  twice  unrepresented.  No 
one  freshman  or  junior  society  has  ever  claimed  the 
whole  of  a  single  board.  The  special  statistics  of  the 
chairmanship  are  not  given,  since  the  office,  though 
taken  cognizance  of  by  the  politicians  in  the  making  up 
of  a  "  ticket,"  and  considered  an  honor  to  the  recipient, 
is  not  popularly  regarded, — not  one  out  of  a  dozen  re 
membering  who  "  the  chairman"  is,  a  month  after  they 
have  read  the  notice  of  his  election. 

Notwithstanding  the  defects  of  the  Lit.  and  the  draw 
backs  against  which  it  has  to  contend,  it  may  be  consid 
ered  a  pretty  fair  exponent  of  the  literary  ability  of  the 
Yale  undergraduates,  and  is  on  the  whole  creditable  to 
the  college  which  it  represents.  If  it  is  sometimes  digni 
fied  almost  to  dulness,  it  is  never  silly  or  vulgar  or  abusive, 
it  is  rarely  conceited  or  unfair.  Nor  is  it  usually  dull. 
Spite  of  all  the  tendencies  in  the  other  direction,  its 
writers  mostly  treat  of  college  themes  whereof  they 
really  know  and  honestly  think.  Its  articles  are  most 
of  them  of  considerable  value  as  furnishing  a  fair  reflex 
of  student  thought  and  feeling.  And  withal  they  are  of 
interest  to  college-bred  men,  even  outside  of  Yale.  The 
magazine  is  certainly  as  much  the  best  as  it  is  the  old 
est  of  its  class,  and  perhaps  it  may  even  be  called  the 
best  of  all  the  college  periodicals.  It  was  never  on  a 
sounder  basis  than  at  present,  and  its  continuance  in  the 
future  seems  almost  as  assured  as  that  of  the  college 
itself.  Were  it  far  less  deserving  and  beneficial  than  it 
actually  is,  however,  the  mere  fact  of  its  having  out 
lived  a  generation  of  mortal  men  and  a  countless  host 
of  college  journals,  of  its  being  the  first  college  periodi- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  443 

cal  that  ever  succeeded  and  one  of  the  very  oldest  of 
any  kind  (save  the  newspapers)  in  the  whole  country, — 
this  alone,  in  a  place  where  tradition  is  so  powerful  as 
at  Yale,  would  certainly  secure  its  perpetuation. 

But  the  Lit.,  though  the  first  of  its  kind  to  succeed, 
did  not  come  unheralded.  A  long  line  of  unfortunate 
journals  had  gone  before  it.  The  first  of  these  was 
called  the  Literary  Cabinet,  and  appeared  Nov.  15,  1806. 
It  was  an  8-page  fortnightly,  of  the  octavo  size,  "under 
the  direction  of  editors  chosen  from  the  senior  class," 
and  was  "  printed  by  Oliver  Steel  &  Co.  at  the  Herald 
office."  Its  price  was  $i  a  year,  half  in  advance,  or 
wholly  in  advance  to  out-of-town  subscribers,  and  the 
publishers  made  "  an  unalterable  resolve  to  appropriate 
the  pecuniary  profits  (!)  to  the  education  of  poor  stu 
dents  in  this  seminary."  They  were  unable  to  find  any 
successors,  however,  and  the  journal  died  when  they 
graduated,  in  October,  1807.  Their  names  were  Thomas 
S.  Grimke,  Jacob  Sutherland,  and  Leonard  E.  Wales. 
-Next  came  the  Athenczum,  which  lasted  from  Feb.  12 
to  Aug.  6,  1814,  under  the  direction  of  5  editors  from 
that  class  :  William  B.  Calhoun,  Daniel  Lord,  George  E. 
Spruill,  William  L.  Storrs,  and  Leonard  Withington. 
It  was  like  its  predecessor  in  size,  price,  and  time  of 
issue,  and  came  from  the  press  of  the  same  printer.  In 
the  last  number  was  a  notice  to  subscribers  that  the 
journal,  doubled  in  size,  would  be  continued  next  year, 
by  a  committee  chosen  from  the  senior  class,  in  case 
sufficient  encouragement  .were  given.  "Sufficient  en 
couragement  was  not  given."  A  Latin  motto — the  one 
from  Cicero,  the  other  from  Pliny — stood  at  the  head  of 
each  of  these  papers  ;  but  neither  of  them  printed  the 
names  of  their  editors,  except,  perhaps,  in  their  final 
numbers,  when  a  contents-table,  and  possibly  a  title- 


444  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

page,  to  the  volume  was  also  issued.  The  Yale  Crayon 
of  1823  was  probably  a  short-lived  magazine  of  the  same 
sort,  as  a  quotation  is  made  from  its  22d  page,  in  Hall's 
"  College  Words  and  Customs."  The  Sitting  Room 
appeared  on  March  17,  1830,  was  a  small-sized  sheet  of 
four  pages,  and  its  subscription  price  was  50  cents  a 
term,  or  75  cents  from  the  first  number  until  Commence 
ment  time.  Six  cents  was  the  price  of  single  copies, 
and  Charles  Adams  was  the  printer  or  publisher,  at  his 
office  on  Chapel  street,  "  No.  4  Central  Row."  After 
making  6  weekly  issues  of  its  own,  it  was  merged  in  the 
Palladium,  occupying  under  its  own  title  the  last  page  of 
that  paper.  In  this  shape  it  made  8  more  appearances, 
covering  the  period  from  May  i  to  July  31,  on  which 
fated  Saturday  the  Room  was  shut  up  forever.  Oliver 
E.  Daggett  of  '28,  then  a  law  student,  was  the  projec 
tor  of  the  enterprise,  and  William  W.  Andrews  of  '31 
was  the  principal  contributor,  though  they  kept  them 
selves  in  the  background,  under  the  pen-name  of  "  Wal 
ter  Percy  &  Co." 

The  next  year  found  no  less  than  three  college  maga 
zines  in  the  field,  all  of  them  edited  anonymously.  The 
most  respectable  one  was  the  Student's  Companion, 
which  extended  from  January  to  May,  and  issued 
between  those  two  dates  4  numbers  of  56  octavo  pages 
each.  Its  cover  of  brownish  yellow  was  ornamented 
with  a  wood-cut  of  a  massive  round-table,  covered  with 
books  and  manuscripts.  Baldwin  &  Treadway  were  the 
printers  and  publishers,  and  A.  H.  Maltby  also  received 
subscriptions,  which  were  "  25  cents  per  quarter,  pay 
able  on  the  delivery  of  the  first  number."  The  editors 
(all  of  whom,  it  was  announced,  were  members  of  the 
college  and  the  chief  a  member  of  the  senior  class) 
called  themselves  the  "  Knights  of  the  Round  Table," 
and  were  supposed  to  be  9  in  number,  corresponding  to 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  445 

the  departments  of  Recorder,  Narrator,  Critic,  Philoso 
pher,  Delineator,  Novelist,  Reflector,  Politician  and 
Troubadour,  to  each  of  which  one  of  them  was  assigned, 
under  a  fancy  name,  like  Harry  Tudor,  or  Launcelot 
Grammot.  They  promised  to  reveal  their  identity  on 
the  issue  of  the  September  number — which  never  ap 
peared.  It  afterwards  came  out  that  the  editors  were 
all  impersonated  in  a  single  individual,  David  F.  Bacon 
of  '31,  who  wrote  the  entire  200  pages  of  the  magazine. 
The  Little.  Gentleman  was  a  diminutive  i6mo,  "  published 
now  and  then  by  H.  Howe  [the  printer]  and  for  sale  by 
booksellers  generally,"  having  upon  its  cover  of  yellow 
ish  brown  a  quotation  in  reference  to  Junius.  The  first 
number,  of  18  pages,  appeared  on  Saturday,  Jan.  i, 
1831,  the  second,  of  double  the  size,  on  Thursday,  Jan. 
27,  and  the  last  (which  was  perhaps  the  5th  or  6th  of 
the  series)  on  Friday,  April  29.  The  editor  or  editors 
doubtless  belonged  to  the  senior  class.  The  Gridiron 
was  a  i2mo,  whose  first  number,  consisting  of  32  pages, 
was  issued  in  February,  1831.  Upon  its  light  red  cover 
was  displayed  an  escutcheon  which  the  editor  thus 
described :  "  Within  a  bordure  sable,  a  field,  quarterly 
argent  and  or,  charged  with  an  eye  proper ;  a  sinister 
hand  erased  at  the  wrist  proper,  holding  balances  tenny; 
a  bundle  of  rods  vert;  a  gridiron  sable  over  flames 
gules  producing  smoke  azure,  supporting  a  man  sejant 
proper,  guarded  by  a  cat  rampant  sanguine  ;  the  whole 
standing  on  a  scroll  bearing  the  motto,  '  Nocet  bonis 
quisque  pepercerit  malis.'  '  Its  editor,  then  unknown, 
was  John  M.  Clapp  of  '31,  afterwards  proprietor  of  a 
Bridgeport  paper.  No  name  of  printer  or  publisher 
was  given.  Of  the  four  principal  articles  in  the  first 
number  (which  had  only  two  or  three  successors),  one 
was  devoted  to  ridiculing  the  Students  Companion,  and 
another  to  chastising  the  Little  Gentleman. 


44^  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Two  years  afterwards  came  the  Medley,  "  a  monthly 
periodical  conducted  by  an  association  of  the  students 
of  Yale  College,"  the  leading  spirit  in  which  association 
is  said  to  have  been  Henry  W.  Ellsworth  of  '34. 
Whitmore  £:  Minor  were  the  printers  and  publishers, 
and  subscriptions  were  also  received  at  the  bookstores 
of  A.  H.  Maltby  and  Hezekiah  Howe.  The  price  was 
"  75  cts.  per  quarter,  payable  on  the  delivery  of  the  first 
number."  On  the  dull  green  covers  was  simply  printed, 
"The  Medley:  Yale  College."  Three  numbers  only 
were  issued,  each  of  56  octavo  pages,  the  dates  being, 
March,  April,  and  June,  1833.  "The  main  object  of 
this  periodical  was  the  encouragement  of  general  litera 
ture,"  and  it  was  to  be  made  up  of  "  tales,  essays,  reviews, 
and  other  productions  of  interest  and  amusement." 
Pseudonyms  were  signed  to  its  articles,  as  to  those  in 
all  jthe  journals  mentioned,  but  the  poetry — of  which 
there  was  a  large  amount — was  ''all  the" work  of  a  cer 
tain  "  *  T  *."  In  review  of  these  7  luckless  periodicals 
which  preceded  the  Lit.,  it  is  seen  that  the  Student's 
Companion  and  the  Medley  were  the  only  ones  at  all 
resembling  it  as  to  size  and  general  design.  The  Sitting 
Room  was  intended  quite  as  much  for  the  town  as  for 
the  college  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Gridiron 
and  Little  Gentleman,  which  were  weakly  satirical, — at 
tempting  to  "dispense  with  lavish  hand  the  cutting  jest 
and  the  bitter  sarcasm "  in  regard  to  such  persons  or 
things  as  chanced  to  be  the  town  talk.  The  Literary 
Cabinet,  Athcna-nm,  and  Medley  were  the  only  journals 
which  their  originators  expected  would  be  long  lived. 
Belief  in  their  perpetuity  was  in  each  case  kept  up  till 
the  very  last.  The  Medley,  especially,  in  its  final  num 
ber,  denounced  with  scorn  the  idea  of  its  predicted 
early  decease  ;  but,  with  the  defiant  "Never  say  die  !  " 
yet  on  its  lips,  it  was  cut  down  as  the  others  had  been. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  447 

The  most  noticeable  characteristic  of  all  these  journals 
was  the  absence  of  anything  whatever  connecting  them, 
even  indirectly,  with  the  college.  To  treat  of  so  vulgar 
a  theme  was  apparently  considered  quite  beneath  their 
dignity.  The  only  exception  to  this  was  the  "  historical 
sketch  of  Yale  "  in  the  Student's  Companion. 

Early  in  1857  a  number  of  Seniors  joined  together  in 
publishing  two  numbers  of  a  periodical  called  the  Yale 
Review,  which  is  said  to  have  been  printed  at  Spring 
field,  Mass.  Its  anonymous  managers  were  probably 
neutrals,  as  their  energies  were  largely  devoted  to 
"pitching  into"  the  senior  societies  and  the  Lit.,  and 
effectually  scarifying  the  men  and  measures  promi 
nently  indentified  with  those  institutions.  A  year 
later  appeared  the  third  and  last  number  of  the 
Review,  whose  editors  were  naturally  inferred  to  be 
neutral  Seniors  of  '58,  though  no  one  in  that  class  could 
discover  their  names.  This  third  and  last  number  of 
the  Review  was  even  more  bitterly  personal  and  sav 
agely  critical  than  its  two  predecessors,  and  great  was 
the  mystery  concerning  it.  It  was  printed  by  Tuttle, 
Morehouse  &  Taylor,  and  was  of  about  the  same  size 
and  typographical  appearance  as  the  Lit.  Its  editors 
were  really  Juniors  of  '59,  some  of  whom  were  elected 
to  the  societies  which  they  ridiculed,  and  three  of  whom 
were  chosen  to  the  editorship  of  the  Lit.  which  they 
"  criticized."  The  latter  doubtless  enjoyed  hearing 
themselves  roundly  abused  at  the  Lit.  initiation  supper 
by  the  '58  editors,  who  had  no  suspicions  of  the  true 
state  of  affairs.  It  was  through  their  connection  with 
the  Review  that  the  '59  editors  formed  the  acquaintance 
with  the  present  Lit.  printers,  which  resulted  in  transfer 
to  them  of  the  work  which  they  have  ever  since  retained. 
The  "  spicy  "  and  mysterious  character  of  the  Review 
ensured  for'  it  a  ready  sale  among  the  undergraduates, 


44§  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

and — unlike  the  earlier  prints,  before  catalogued — 
copies  of  it  are  now  practically  unattainable.  A  prede 
cessor  of  the  Review  was  the  Yale  Literary  Quidnunc, 
published  in  April  and  June,  1838,  by  "Michael  Lucifer 
&  Co.,"  which  gave  up  most  of  its  pages  to  personal 
attacks  on  the  Lit. — then  in  its  infancy — and  copied 
that  magazine  in  its  size  and  make-up  as  well  as  in  its  title. 
But  the  most  elaborate  enterprize  ever  undertaken  in 
the  way  of  college  journalism  was  the  publication  of  the 
University  Quarterly.  Its  object  was  "  to  enlist  the 
active  talent  of  young  men  in  American  and  as  far  as 
possible  in  foreign  universities,  in  the  discussion  of 
questions  and  the  communication  of  intelligence  of 
common  interest  to  students."  It  was  "to  be  made  up 
of  news,  local  sketches,  reformatory  thought  and  liter 
ary  essays,  from  all  the  principal  seats  of  classical  and 
professional  learning,"  and  thus  help  "  to  unite  the 
sympathies  of  academical,  collegiate  and  professional 
students  throughout  the  world."  Its  management  was 
to  be  vested  in  the  Quarterly  Association,  which  was  to 
consist  of  boards  or  correspondents  chosen  in  each 
institution,  in  any  manner  deemed  advisable,  but  to  be 
changed  as  infrequently  as  possible  and  be  perpetually 
renewed  by  elections  from  incoming  classes.  All 
boards  and  the  members  of  them  were  to  be  on  an 
equal  footing.  That  one  at  the  place  of  publication 
were  to  form  a  "central  board  of  compilation,"  but  were 
"  to  be  strictly  impartial  towards  their  own  institution, 
and  wholly  governed  by  the  prospectus  and  the  will  of 
the  association."  Each  board  were  to  be  responsible  for 
the  sentiments,  accuracy,  and  literary  character  of  their 
articles,  and  were  to  forward  none  for  publication  which 
had  not  received  the  approval  of  a  majority  of  their 
members.  The  central  board  "  were  to  have  no  power 
of  rejection,  but  in  case  a  majority  of  its  members  ob- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  449 

jected  to  an  article,  it  was  to  be  referred  back  to  the 
board  sending  it,  and  if  a  difference  of  opinion  should 
still  exist,  the  final  decision  was  to  be  given  by  one  or  more 
members  of  their  college  faculty,  chosen  by  that  board." 
A  general  secretary  was  to  be  employed  and  salaried, 
to  conduct  the  correspondence  and  act  as  treasurer  and 
agent  of  the  association.  Each  board  were  to  occupy  a 
number  of  pages  proportionate  to  the  number  of  under 
graduates  in  their  institution  and  the  number  of  institu 
tions  represented  in  the  magazine,  and  for  each  page 
occupied  were  to  furnish  one  subscriber. 

The  first  informal  prospectus,  embracing  this  general 
scheme,  was  sent  out  from  New  Haven,  October  27, 
1858,  and  on  the  reception  of  favorable  replies  from 
Amherst,  Williams  and  Dartmouth,  the  plan  of  manage 
ment  was  carefully  elaborated,  the  number  of  the  Yale 
board  increased  to  two  and  afterwards  to  four,  and  with 
this  temporary  organization,  a  revised  circular  and 
prospectus  was  issued,  November  25,  and  the  work  of 
enquiry  and  discussion  commenced.  Three  things  were 
deemed  essential  :  that  the  plan  should  be  favored  by 
faculties  and  alumni ;  that  all  the  principal  institutions 
of  the  country  should  join  the  association  ;  and  that 
correspondents  should  be  secured  in  the  foreign  univer 
sities.  The  first  point  being  gained,  the  suggestions 
offered  by  prominent  educators  and  journalists  were 
embodied  in  the  revised  prospectus  and  circular  issued 
in  May,  1859,  and  by  pushing  this  among  undergraduates, 
at  home  and  abroad,  the  second  and  third  con 
ditions  were  soon  fulfilled,  and  the  publication  of  the 
Quarterly  was  decided  upon.  The  first  number  bore 
date  of  January,  1860,  and  April,  July  and  October  were 
the  other  months  of  issue.  The  eighth  and  last  number 
was  that  of  October,  1861.  The  two  years  were  divided 
into  four  volumes,  of  which  the  number  of  pages  were 


45°  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

successively  430,  412,  452,  and  324,  or  somewhat  above 
the  promised  average  of  200  pages  per  issue.  Tuttle, 
Morehouse  &:  Taylor  were  the  printers,  and  Thomas  H. 
Pease  was  the  general  agent.  The  authors'  names  were 
indicated,  with  the  titles  of  their  articles,  on  the  inner 
covers  of  each  issue,  and  in  the  contents-table  accom 
panying  the  title  page  for  each  volume.  The  covers 
were  of  a  brownish  green.  On  the  title-page,  which  was 
a  reprint  of  the  cover,  the  Quarterly  was  said  to  be 
"conducted  by  an  association  of  collegiate  and  pro 
fessional  students  in  the  United  States  and  Europe," 
and  the  names  of  the  institutions  composing  the  associa 
tion  were  indicated.  There  were  18  of  them  when  the 
first  number  was  issued,  and  28  when  the  association 
was  dissolved.  The  names  of  these  were  as  follows, — 
5  more  which  had  then  withdrawn  being  indicated  in 
brackets :  [Albany  Law  School],  Amherst,  Andovcr 
Theol.  Sem.,  Antioch,  Beloit  [Berlin],  Bowdoin,  Brown, 
Cambridge  (Eng.),  Columbia,  Dartmouth  [Halle], 
Hamilton,  Harvard,  Heidelberg,  Kenyon,  Marietta, 
Michigan,  Middlebury,  New  York,  Norwich,  Oberlin, 
Pennsylvania,  People's  [State  and  National  Law  School], 
Trinity,  Troy,  Union  [Union  Theol.  Sem.],  Vermont, 
Wesleyan,  Williams,  Yale. 

The  originator  cf  the  enterprise  seems  to  have  been 
Flavius  J.  Cook  of  '62.  On  the  9th  November,  1859, 
when  he  had  interested  27  other  Yale  men  in  the  work, 
a  provisional  organization  was  made,  under  whose  care 
the  first  number  was  issued.  The  magazine  being  thus 
fairly  started,  it  was  thought  best  to  hold  a  public  elec 
tion  of  editors.  Accordingly,  on  Wednesday,  February 
22,  1860,  all  members  of  the  three  upper  classes  were 
requested  to  vote  for  9  men,  3  from  each  class, — a 
plurality  vote  being  sufficient  to  elect.  The  polls  were 
opened  during  the  day,  and  a  very  full  ballot  cast.  Six 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  45  J 

of  the  9  then  chosen  had  been  members  of  the  pro 
visional  board,  which  was  then  discontinued,  its  duties 
of  course  having  been  accomplished.  The  next  elec 
tion  was  held  Sept.  -22,  when  3  new  editors  were  chosen 
from  '63  to  replace  those  graduated  in  '60,  and  the 
boards  of  '61  and  '62  were  re-elected.  A  year  later, 
Sept.  29,  1861,  the  third  and  last  election  was  held, — 
three  new  editors  being  chosen  from  '64,  and  those  of 
'62  and  '63  being  re-elected,  except  one  new  man  in 
each  class,  needed  to  fill  a  vacancy.  Of  the  38  Yale 
men  thus  connected  with  the  Quarterly,  a  half-dozen 
were  then  or  afterwards  editors  of  the  Lit.,  and  there 
was  never  any  rivalry  between  the  two  periodicals. 
Nearly  500  of  the  1600  pages  were  written  by  Yale  men  ; 
say,  about  275  by  those  representing  the  institution,  150 
by  those  representing  other  institutions,  and  75  by  those 
representing  the  general  association.  In  other  words, 
almost  a  third  instead  of  a  thirty-third  part  of  the  matter 
was  supplied  in  one  way  or  another  by  the  college.  Yet 
there  was  never  any  complaint  of  unfair  treatment  of 
other  institutions,  and  the  central  board  never  went 
beyond  the  authority  given  it  by  the  prospectus.  It 
was  rarely  oppressed  .by  too  much  copy,  and  the  last 
number  was  reduced  in  size — to  150  pages — only  be 
cause  the  central  board  had  nothing  more  left  to  print. 
Next  to  Yale,  Ambers t  apparently  gave  the  Quarterly 
the  best  support, — Francis  A.  Walker  and  William  M. 
Pomeroy,  both  afterwards  connected  with  the  Springfield 
Republican,  doing  considerable  work  for  it.  Wendell  P. 
Garrison  of  the  Nation  was  one  of  the  Harvard  writers, 
but  this  college  never  took  a  very  hearty  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  association. 

Each  number  contained  14  or  15  "  essays" — generally 
on  some  subject  connected  with  student  life — and  a  like 
number  of  "  news  articles,"  giving  a  record  of  current 


452  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

events  in  the  different  colleges,  perhaps  preceded  in  the 
first  case  by  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  same. 
These  were  arranged  alphabetically,  bringing  Yale  at 
the  end  ;  and  a  Yale  essay  never  introduced  a  number. 
Last,  came  a  news  article  in  regard  to  the  Quarterly 
association,  wherein  the  central  board  informed  the 
others  of  the  pecuniary  progress  and  prospects  of  their 
enterprise  and  urged  them  to  continue  their  support.  A 
convention  of  the  editors  was  held  at  Worcester  at  the 
time  of  the  regatta  of  1860,  wherein  8  or  10  boards 
were  represented,  and  the  prospects  of  the  Quarterly 
were  talked  over.  Among  other  things  it  was  voted  that 
the  compensation  given  for  foreign  articles  be  not  over 
75cts.  per  page.  During  the  first  year,  $53  was  expended 
in  this  way,  the  printer's  bill  was  $1695,  and  the  entire 
expenses  were  $1863.  The  receipts  exceeded  this 
amount  by  $57 — $1720  being  derived  from  subscriptions 
and  $200  from  advertisements.  But  aside  from  the 
money  actually  paid  in  to  the  treasurer,  about  $350  had 
been  collected  by  or  was  due  to  boards  which  had  not 
reported,  so  that  in  its  first  year  the  University  Quarterly 
made  a  profit  of  about  $400.  No  second  financial 
report  was  published,  but  the  affairs  of  the  concern 
were  probably  closed  up  without  loss  to  the  conductors, 
though  the  death  seems  to  have  been  sudden, — the 
number  for  October,  1861,  evidently  having  no  expecta 
tions  that  it  would  be  the  last.  The  subscription  price 
was  $2  a  year,  and  $10  a  page  was  charged  for  adver 
tisements,  which  began  in  the  second  number.  The 
cost  of  printing  was  about  $2  a  page, — the  average  edi 
tion  being  1400  copies, — and  the  bills  therefor  were  due 
within  20  days  from  the  time  of  publication.  Free 
copies  were  sent  to  important  journals,  but  no  exchanges 
were  made  either  with  college  or  outside  periodicals  of 
any  sort.  Even  the  editors  were  obliged  to  pay  for 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  453 

their  own  copies.  The  name  University  Quarterly  was 
assumed  with  the  second  number,  the  first  one  having 
been  called  the  Undergraduate.  "  A  friend  of  the  peri 
odical,"  outside  of  college,  offered  a  prize  of  $30  for 
the  best  essay  written  by  an  undergraduate,  and  another 
of  $20  for  the  best  one  written  by  a  professional  stu 
dent,  that  should  be  published  during  the  first  year  of 
the  Quarterly.  The  one  fell  to  Oliver  W.  Holmes,  Jr., 
of  Harvard,  for  his  article  on  "  Plato,"  the  other  to 
Edward  A.  Walker  of  Yale  '56,  then  studying  at  Heidel 
berg,  for  his  description  of  "  German  Student  Life  and 
Travel."  The  committee  of  award  were  ex-President 
Hitchcock  of  Amherst,  Prof.  Ticknor  of  Harvard,  and 
Hon.  George  S.  Hillard.  Next  year  the  association 
itself  offered  three  prizes  of  $20  each:  one  for  the  best 
undergraduate  essay,  one  for  the  best  professional  essay, 
and  one  for  the  best  news  article,  by  whomsoever  writ 
ten,  that  should  be  printed  during  the  year.  But  the 
Quarterly  died  before  the  awards  were  made. 

Except  for  the  war,  it  seems  likely  that  the  magazine 
might  have  been  made  a  permanent  success.  Once  on 
a  paying  basis,  with  sufficient  profits  to  have  secured  at 
a  high  salary  a  competent  executive  manager  and  finan 
cial  agent,  its  future  would  have  been  reasonably  certain. 
Its  projectors  saw  that  the  whole  problem  depended  on 
securing  such  an  officer,  and  they  bent  all  their  energies 
in  that  direction,  but  before  the  thing  could  be  accom 
plished  the  war  came,  and  they  were  forced  to  surrender 
to  the  logic  of  events.  But  the  energy  shown  in  organ 
izing  such  an  extensive  association,  the  tact  displayed 
in  securing  the  harmonious  working  of  such  clumsy  and 
complicated  machinery,  the  executive  force  which  suc 
cessfully  "  put  through"  all  the  numberless  business 
details  of  the  plan,  were  little  less  than  marvelous.  How 
the  "central  board  of  compilation,"  undergraduates  as 


454  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

they  were,  ever  carried  on  their  shoulders  such  a  crush 
ing  load  as  the  regular  publication  of  a  2oo-page  quar 
terly,  seems  a  mystery.  Yet  they  did  it,  for  two  full 
years,  and  they  deserve  high  praise  therefor.  The  Uni 
versity  was  an  interesting  and  valuable  periodical  withal, 
and  a  credit  to  all  who  had  a  share  in  it.  Had  it  managed 
to  live  until  the  present  time,  its  would  doubtless  be 
sure  of  perpetuation,  but,  having  died,  it  will  never  have 
a  successor,  for  quarterly  reviews  of  every  sort  have 
probably  seen  their  best  days,  and  no  one  now  ventures 
to  project  such  a  journal  in  any  field  of  literature. 
Every  college,  too,  has  now  its  own  separate  "  organ," 
though  the  "policies"  adopted  by  most  of  them  seem 
hardly  to  be  shaped  from  the  old  Quarterly's  motto, 


The  fireman's  riot  of  1841  was  followed  by  the  appear 
ance  of  the  Yale  Banner,  which  put  forth  four  issues, 
Nov.  5,  12,  26,  and  Dec.  10  of  that  year,  and  aimed  to 
be  the  mouthpiece  of  the  students,  since,  as  was  alleged, 
none  of  the  city  papers  dared  to  print  the  college,  side 
of  the  story.  The  first  number  was  embellished  with  a 
wood-cut  of  a  rough-looking  character  brandishing  an 
immense  jaw-bone,  —  the  sun  rising  over  the  mountains, 
forming  the  background.  Beneath  the  design  was  the 
request,  "  [Please  exchange]."  After  that,  a  small  wood 
cut  of  the  college  row,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  edito 
rial  page,  was  the  only  adornment.  With  the  second 
issue,  it  was  announced  that  the  paper  would  be  pub 
lished  weekly  at  $2  a  year,  6  cents  a  single  copy.  The 
anonymous  editor,  who  wrote  nearly  everything  in  the 
paper,  was  William  E.  Robinson  of  '42  —  afterwards 
"  Richelieu"  of  the  Tribune,  and  member  of  Congress. 
Perhaps  the  suspension  of  the  Banner  was  due  to  his 
own  suspension  from  college,  for  refusing  to  inform  the 
faculty  in  regard  to  some  lawless  doings  of  his  class- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  455 

mates  ;  but,  more  likely,  with  the  dying  out  of  the  excite 
ment  concerning  the  riot,  it  found  its  occupation  gone. 
"Vol.  i,  No.  5,"  price  ten  cents,  appeared  Nov.  3,  1842, 
and  contained  a  catalogue  of  the  college  on  its  last 
three  pages,  and  of  the  four  secret  societies — Bones, 
Delta  Phi,  Psi  U,  and  Keys,  accompanied  by  their  cuts 
— on  the  first  page,  together  with  one  or  two  columns  of 
reading  matter  and  business  notices.  "Vol.  2,  No.  i" 
was  issued  three  years  later,  and  ever  since  then  the 
Banner  has  made  its  annual  appearance,  shortly  after 
the  opening  of  the  fall  term — "Vol.  26,  No.  i,"  bearing 
date  of  Oct.  6,  1869 — and  been  simply  a  catalogue  of 
the  college,  and  the  various  societies  and  miscellaneous 
organizations  connected  with  it.  The  prizes,  honors 
and  scholarships  awarded  during  the  year,  and  other 
facts  of  like  character,  are  also  published,  but  of  late 
there  has  been  no  editorial  matter  of  any  sort.  Up  to 
1865  the  Banner  was  always  a  single  4-page  sheet,  of 
various  shapes  and  sizes;  and  from  1853  until  that 
time  a  supplement  of  single  leaf,  containing  the  fresh 
man  societies,  was  put  forth  about  a  week  after  the  main 
sheet.  After  1866,  both  were  combined  to  form  a 
double-sheet  of  8  pages,  which  sold  for  15  cents.  For 
the  three  years  preceeding,  the  price  had  been  10  cents 
per  copy,  and  7  cents  for  supplements,  and,  before  that, 
6  and  5  cents  respectively.  In  1851  there  were  three 
editions,  and  in  1858  there  was  a  second  edition  in 
pamphlet  form,  comprising  5  2  pages,  with  lemon-colored 
cover.  This  was  the  last  year  in  which  there  was  an 
extended  editorial.  The  "  volume"  for  1847,  'm  addition 
to  the  usual  matter,  contained  separate  cuts  of  all  the 
college  buildings.  The  ordinary  cut  of  the  college  yard 
was  introduced  into  the  heading  in  1851.  Advertise 
ments  were  admitted  in  1853,  jwicl  eating  clubs  with 
their  cuts  in  1854.  The  "good  will"  of  the  Banner  is 


45 6  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  property  of  the  Bones  society,  which  probably  got 
possession  of  it  about  the  year  1850.  A  resident  Bones 
man  —  usually  a  Theologue  —  who  has  graduated  the 
previous  summer,  issues  the  paper  each  year  Formerly 
— when  there  was  no  other  annual  save  the  official  col 
lege  catalogue,  and  no  college  periodical  but  the  Lit. — 
it  was  a  source  of  no  little  profit  to  the  person  who 
issued  it,  but  with  the  establishment  of  a  weekly  college 
paper,  and  a  similar  annual  catologue  in  pamphlet  form, 
in  1865,  its  prosperity  diminished,  until  it  became  evident 
that  it  must  die  or  be  placed  upon  a  new  basis.  Accord 
ingly,  last  year,  "Vol.  xxvii.  No.  i,"  was  put  forth  in  the 
form  of  a  pamphlet  of  70  pages, — exclusive  of  50  pages 
of  advertisements, — compiled  with  unusual  care  and 
thoroughness,  tastefully  printed  on  an  extra  quality  of 
tinted  paper,  and  sold  for  30  cents  a  copy  or  4  copies 
for  $i.  The  work  was  accepted  by  college  as  the  best 
catalogue  of  the  sort  that  had  ever  appeared,  and,  spite 
of  the  unusual  expense  attending  its  publication,  was  a 
financial  success  ;  so  its  perpetuity  is  probably  assured. 
What  is  now  the  firm  of  Tuttle,  Morehouse  &  Taylor 
have  printed  the  Banner  for  18  years  ;  previous  to  1852, 
J.  H.  Benham  was  sometimes  and  perhaps  always  the 
printer. 

The  rival  annual,  whose  initial  number  expressly  dis 
claimed  any  such  character,  is  the  Pot  Pourri,  whose 
first  number  appeared  in  the  fall  of  1865.  It  is  pub 
lished  by  a  Senior  who  is  a  Keys  man,  and  who  has 
usually  cleared  about  $100  profit  from  the  sale  of  it. 
Coming  a  month  or  more  after  the  Banner •,  the  work  of 
compilation  has  consisted  chiefly  in  correcting  and  re 
arranging  the  facts  got  together  by  the  editor  of  the  lat 
ter  sheet,  and  making  a  few  additions  to  the  same  ;  in 
other  words,  the  labor  has  been  borne  by  one,  the  credit 
and  profit  by  the  other  periodical.  As  this  state  of 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  457 

affairs  was  evidently  running  out  the  Banner,  it  last 
year  changed  its  character,  in  the  manner  stated,  and 
stood  forth  as  the  professed  rival  of  the  other  annual, 
— claiming  and  generally  receiving  the  support  of  college 
on  the  ground  of  its  own  greater  antiquity,  and  preoc 
cupation  of  the  field,  as  well  as  its  superior  merits  as  a 
catalogue.  A  rough  carricature,  posted  about  college 
at  the  time, — representing  a  pair  of  pugilists  engaging 
in  a  fistic  encounter,  one  with  a  Bones  pin  standing 
upon  a  book  labeled  Banner,  another  with  a  Keys  pin 
standing  on  a  book  labeled  Pot  Pourri, — showed  that 
college  appreciated  the  animus  of  the  rivalry.  As  there 
is  evidently  no  need  for  two  exactly  similar  catalogues, 
the  common-sense  view  of  the  matter  is  that  the  Pot 
Ponrri  ought  to  decently  die  out,  and  put  an  end  to  its 
encroachments  on  the  field  pre-empted  by  the  Banner,  30 
years  ago ;  but  as  society  "  interests  "  are  involved,  it  is 
likely  that  its  publication  will  be  persisted  in,  and  that 
hereafter  the  two  rival  annuals  will  each  try  to  anticipate 
and  outbid  the  other.  Indeed,  as  a  sort  of  tender  to 
the  Pot  Pourri,  Keys  backs  up  the  publication  of  still 
another  annual,  called  the  Yale  Index,  first  put  forth  on 
Presentation  Day,  June  30,  1869,  by  a  man  of  '70,  just 
elected  to  the  society.  This  first  issue  comprised  28 
quarto  pages  of  tinted  book-paper,  enclosed  in  a  blue 
cover,  and  was  sold  for  30  cents  or  4  copies  for  $i. 
Typographically  it  was  a  success,  but  financially  a  fail 
ure,  as  it  contained  no  advertisements  and  was  not 
"pushed"  or  advertised.  Last  year  the  same  man 
again  issued  it,  as  an  ordinary  octavo  pamphlet  of  24 
pages,  whfch  sold  for  25  cents,  and  returned  a  small 
profit,  and  it  will  be  at  least  continued  for  the  present 
year.  Perhaps,  if  Keys  should  ultimately  decide  to 
combine  the  Pot  Pourri  with  this  third-term  catalogue, 
and  leave  the  Banner  alone  in  the  fall,  all  parties  might 

21 


45 8  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

be  satisfied.  As  for  the  6  issues  of  the  Pot, — as  under 
graduates  persist  in  abbreviating  the  name,  and  per 
versely  sounding  the  final  letter, — an  "  editorial  greet 
ing  "  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen  lines  found  a  place  in  the 
first  four  numbers,  and  "  club  table  talk,"  a  page  for 
each  class,  in  the  first  and  fourth.  The  typography  was 
exactly  alike  in  the  first  four  numbers,  the  covers  being 
of  various  colored  papers,  but  was  varied  from  in  the 
fifth  and  again  in  the  sixth,  whose  title-page  was  printed 
in  red  and  black,  and  whose  cover  was  of  a  light 
bluish  tinge  with  ornamental  borderings  of  gilt.  The 
size  has  varied  from  74  to  84  pages,  and  advertisements 
have  appeared  in  all  the  numbers  against  the  first, 
which  fiercely  declaimed  against  their  appearance  in  col 
lege  prints.  The  price  has  always  been  35  cents,and  the 
printers  of  it  and  the  Index  have  been  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Banner.  It  may  be  here  remarked,  that  though 
the  names  given  in  the  society  lists  of  these  catalogues 
comprise — except  in  the  case  of  the  senior  societies, 
and  not  excepting  them  in  the  Index — two  classes,  only 
the  lower  class  mentioned  in  any  case  are  the  real  act 
ing  members  of  the  society.  Thus  the  Freshmen  alone 
conduct  the  freshman  societies,  though  the  names  of  the 
Sophomores  belonging  to  them  are  given,  and  so  on  for 
the  others, — one  idea  in  publishing  the  upper  class 
members  being  to  indicate  the  names  of  those  taken  in 
by  class  elections  during  the  year.  Formerly  the 
Seniors  were  active  members  of  the  junior  societies, 
and  the  two  classes  held  separate  as  well  as  general 
meetings.  In  those  days  none  but  the  regular  acting 
members  were  published  in  the  lists  of  the  sophomore 
and  freshman  societies.  The  sophomore  societies  were 
the  last  of  all  to  publish  the  names  of  their  upper-class 
members.  A  Commencement  Directory,  of  16  octavo 
pages,  was  issued  in  July,  1851,  by  L.  W.  Fitch,  con- 


THE  STUDENT  L7FE.  459 

taining  the  cuts  and  members  of  the  upper-class  societies, 
the  names  of  the  graduating  class,  of  the  sub-Freshmen 
who  had  been  admitted,  and  of  the  200  alumni  then  in 
town,  with  their  places  of  abode,  together  with  a  few 
advertisements.  The  price  of  the  sheet  was  6  cents, 
and  though  called  "Vol.  i,  No.  i,"  it  was  without  a  suc 
cessor.  A  Bulletin  Catalogue  of  32  pages  and  pink 
cover,  was  issued  in  November,  1863,  containing  true 
lists  of  the  officers  and  students  of  the  college,  the 
members  of  the  various  societies,  clubs  and  miscellane 
ous  organizations,  prizes  taken  during  the  year,  etc.,  but 
the  letterpress,  mostly  in  the  form  of  a  "  general  state 
ment,"  was  all  of  a  burlesque  character,  expressed  in 
the  style  of  the  official  college  catalogue.  There  were 
no  cuts  of  any  sort  in  the  pamphlet,  nor  was  the  print 
er's  name  expressed.  The  anonymous  editors  were 
probably  Seniors.  In  1857,  appeared  a  mock  "  Cata 
logue  of  the  Officers  and  Students  in  Yale  College, 
revised  edition,  printed  by  R.  H.  Sawbones."  It  was  a 
small  affair  of  36  pages  and  yellow  cover,  giving  true 
lists  of  the  students,  and  distortions  of  the  college  offi 
cers'  names  and  titles,  and  devoting  its  dozen  pages  of 
letter-press  to  an  absurd  burlesque  of  the  statements  in 
the  regular  catalogue.  A  similar  pamphlet  was  also  put 
forth  in  1852. 

A  second  paper,  called  the  Collegian,  was  called  into 
being  by  the  riot  of  1841,  and  was  to  be  published  fort 
nightly  for  six  months  at  a  subscription  price  of  $i, — 
single  copies  6  cents.  The  initials  "  E.  H."  were  signed 
to  the  prospectus  and  most  of  the  other  pieces,  but  the 
editors  and  printers  were  anonymous.  Unlike  the 
Banner,  it  devoted  much  of  its  attention  to  matters  un 
connected  with  the  riot ;  and,  unlike  it,  too,  it  never 
put  forth  a  successor  to  the  first  number,  which  bore 
date  of  Wednesday,  Dec.  i.  The  College  Cricket  of  April, 


460  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

1846,  and  the  City  of  Elms  of  June  3  following,  were 
respectable  literary  papers,  which  never  lived  to  issue 
"No.  2."  The  Meerschaum  of  Jan.  23,  1857,  published 
probably  by  a  Junior,  the  Excuse  Paper  of  January, 
1860,  edited  as  it  declares  "  by  men  from  every  class  in 
college,  and  perhaps  the  N.  B.,  which  appeared  some 
what  earlier,  each  consisted  of  8  small  pages  of  rather 
pointless  letterpress,  and  were  issued  without  expectation 
of  appearing  a  second  time.  The  Gallinipper  was  a 
scurrilous  print  whose  7  issues  were  dated,  February 
and  March,  1846,  November,  1848,  December,  1849, 
March,  1853  (?),  January,  1856,  and  February,  1858. 
Its  publishers  probably  belonged  to  the  two  upper 
classes,  though  they  may  have  been  Sophomores, 
and  of  course  changed  from  year  to  year,  —  the 
editors  of  two  successive  papers  probably  being  quite 
unknown  to  each  other.  As  the  sheet  was  devoted  to 
personal  abuse  of  the  faculty  and  individual  students, 
its  writers  and  printers  naturally  kept  themselves  in 
close  concealment.  Its  tone  was  considerably  worse 
than  that  of  its  by-no-means-faultless  cotemporaries,  the 
Yale  Banger  of  Sigma  Theta,  and  the  Tomahawk  of 
Sigma  Phi,  which  have  been  mentioned  in  the  chapter 
on  Sophomore  Societies.  Reference  was  there  made 
to  the  Delta  Kap  Battery  st  1850  ;  and  the  Arbiter,  con 
cerning  the  foot-ball  game  of  1853,  was  noticed  in  its 
proper  place.  It  only  remains  to  mention  the  Hornet, 
of  December,  1847,  put  forth  by  the  Freshmen  of  '51 
to  sting  their  sophomore  oppressors.  With  the  excep 
tions  noted,  all  these  "  feuilletons,"  as  they  used  to  be 
called,  were  upon  single  4-page  sheets,  of  various  shapes 
and  sizes,  and  were  as  a  rule  rather  poorly  printed. 

As  the  Yale  Lit.  was  the  first  successful  college  maga 
zine,  so  the  Yale  Courant  was  the  first  successful  college 
newspaper.  It  was  originated  by  five  members  of  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  46 1 

class  of  '66,  one  of  whom  was  its  present  publisher,  and 
quietly  put  forth  its  first  issue  on  Saturday.  Nov.  25, 1865. 
It  was  a  plainly  printed,  4-page  sheet,  12  by  10  inches  in 
size,  and  its  price  was  $2  a  year  or  5  cents  a  copy.  The 
editors  announced  their  names  in  the  second  number, 
but  did  not  insert  them  afterwards.  They  rented  an 
office  at  the  corner  of  Church  and  Chapel  streets,  in  the 
building  where  their  paper  was  printed,  and  kept  it 
open  for  the  transaction  of  business  at  certain  appointed 
hours  of  the  day,  but  the  College  Bookstore  was  the 
agency  through  which  papers  were  distributed  to  sub 
scribers,  and  single  copies  were  also  kept  on  sale  there 
and  at  two  or  three  other  places  in  town.  Thus  the 
Courant  appeared  on  every  Saturday  morning  of  term- 
time  until  the  following  June  ;  when,  on  Wednesday,  the 
27th  of  that  month, — Presentation  Day,— it  put  forth  its 
26th  issue,  with  the  number  of  pages  doubled,  the 
quality  of  the  paper  improved,  and  the  heading  and 
typography  changed  greatly  for  the  better.  Wednesday 
was  thenceforth  the  publication  day,  and  the  volume 
closed  with  the  term,  four  weeks  later,  30  numbers  and 
140  pages  having  been  printed.  The  ist  number  of  the 
2d  volume  was  issued  August  ist,  to  give  an  account 
of  the  University  race  and  of  Commencement ;  the  2d 
with  the  opening  of  the  term  in  September  \  and  the 
4oth  and  last  bore  date  of  July  3,  1867.  When  the  size 
of  the  paper  was  doubled,  the  year  before,  its  price  was 
raised  from  $2  to  $3,  and  from  50.  to  IDC.  a  copy ;  and 
the  names  of  four  new  editors  from  '67,  chosen  by  the 
retiring  '66  men,  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the  edi 
torial  page,  together  with  that  of  Charles  C.  Chatfield 
of  '66,  "graduate  editor  and  publisher."  This  relation 
lasted  during  the  year,  but  the  ownership  of  the  paper 
being  a  matter  of  dispute,  and  each  of  the  '67  men 
having  the  power  to  forbid  the  insertion  of  any  article 


4^2  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

and  so  to  prevent  the  issue  of  the  paper  itself,  the  pub 
lisher,  after  an  attempt — rendered  in  each  case  unsuc 
cessful  by  the  objection  of  a  single  individual — to  gain 
from  the  boards  of '66  and  '67  a  clear  iitle  to  the  chief 
authority,  decided  to  wind  up  affairs  and  begin  anew. 

Accordingly,  July  10,  i_867,  appeared  the  College 
Courant,  Vol.  i.,  No.  i,  "  entered  according  to  act  of 
Congress  by  Charles  C.  Chatfield,"  whose  name  also 
appeared  as  "graduate  editor  and  publisher,"  in  connec 
tion  with  the  names  of  three  "  undergraduate  editors 
from  the  class  of  '68,"  chosen  by  himself.  The  price 
and  number  of  pages  remained  as  before,  but  the  size  of 
the  page  was  enlarged  by  one  third.  The  motto,  Perse- 
verantia  Omnia  Vincit^  and  the  name  "  Yale  "  in  large 
type,  were  introduced  in  the  heading,  and  remained 
there  till  the  issue  of  Dec.  31,  1870.  An  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  also  once  or  twice  made  to  combine  a  small 
"  The  "  or  "  Yale  "  with  the  heading.  The  paper  ap 
peared  in  term  time  only,  and  the  volume — which  for  the 
first  26  numbers  was  spoken  of  as  "Vol.  i.,"  and  after 
that  as  "  Third  Year  " — closed  with  the  4oth  number, 
Wednesday,  June  24,  1868.  The  number  of  pages  was 
then  doubled  to  16,  the  subscription  price  was  advanced 
to  $4,  though  single  copies  remained  at  ice.  as  before, 
and  the  plan — since  adhered  to — was  announced  of  pub 
lishing  two  semi-annual  volumes  of  25  numbers  each, 
beginning  with  the  first  Saturday  of  July  and  January. 
The  two  weeks  thus  passed  over  are  in  the  latter  part  of 
August,  when  no  colleges  are  in  session.  The  first 
number  of  this  1 6-page  issue  bore  date  of  Wednesday, 
July  i,  1868,  the  second  of  Saturday,  July  n,  and  Satur 
day  has  since  been  the  printed  date  of  publication  ; 
though  up  to  May,  1870,  the  paper  appeared  on  the  pre 
vious  Wednesday,  for  the  next  four  months  on  Thursday, 
and  since  September,  1870,  the  time  of  printing  it  has 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4^3 

varied  from  two  days  before  to  two  days  after  its  date, 
though  it  has  usually  appeared  on  Saturday.  During  the 
last  six  months  of  1868,  the  volume  was  spoken  of  as 
the  "  Fourth  Year,"  but  its  successor  was  called  "  Vol. 
v.,"  and  that  enumeration  has  since  been  retained.  In 
order  to  make  it  consistent,  the  first  volume  of  40  num 
bers  and  320  pages  (July,  1867  to  June,  1868),  must  be 
counted  as  "  Vols.  I.  and  II.,"  and  the  subsequent  6- 
months'  volumes  as  "  one  "  each.  With  the  opening 
issue  of  the  present  year  —  "  Vol.  viii.,  No.  i  "  —  was 
introduced  the  plan  of  indicating  also  the  "  whole  num 
ber,"  which  was  then  "  236."  To  arrive  at  this  "whole 
number,"  the  70  issues  of  the  original  Yale  Courant 
have  to  be  included,  though,  as  just  shown,  the  two 
volumes  which  they  formed  have  been  disregarded  in 
the  present  enumeration  of  volumes. 

Advertisements  originally  occupied  the  last  one  of  the 
Couranfs  4  pages,  then  the  last  two  of  its  8,  and  since 
it  has  been  a  1 6-page  sheet  they  have  taken  up  at  least 
the  4  outside  pages,  which  is  about  the  space  held  at 
present,  and  sometimes  have  absorbed  6  or  7  pages. 
At  the  head  of  the  editorial  page,  which  has  always 
been  the  left-hand  one  of  the  inner  fold,  the  name  of 
Charles  C.  Chatfield,  "  editor  and  publisher, "  ap 
peared,  from  July  i,  1868  to  Sept.  17,  1870,  and  from 
Oct.  23,  1869,  the  name  of  Prof.  George  F.  Barker,  M.D., 
"editor  of  the  scientific  department,"  appeared  in 
connection  with  it.  From  Sept.  24,  1870,  no  names 
have  been  printed  there.  The  three  Seniors  employed 
as  editors  from  the  class  of  '69,  at  the  commencement 
of  their  labors, — July  i,  1868, — established  a  separate 
"  Undergraduate  Department,"  at  the  head  of  which 
alone  their  names  were  printed,  and  for  the  character  of 
which  they  alone  were  to  be  responsible.  The  depart 
ment  usually  occupied  three  or  four  pages  in  the  latter 


464  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

part  of  the  paper,  and  being  suspended  in  vacation 
time  of  course  made  but  40  appearances  during  the 
year.  It  was  probably  for  the  purpose  of  rendering 
these  pages  more  easily  accessible  to  undergraduate 
readers  that  the  plan  was  introduced  of  so  printing  the 
sheet  as  to  bring  the  folded  leaves  in  its  first  half  rather 
than  in  its  last  half,  as  is  ordinarily  the  case. 

During  the  summer  term  of  1870,  beginning  with  the 
issue  of  May  7  (Vol.  vi.,  No.  18),  the  undergraduate 
editors  persuaded  the  publishers  to  print  their  "  depart 
ment"  on  a  separate  sheet,  under  the  name  of  "the  Yale 
Courant)  a  supplement  to  the  College  Courant"  and  ten 
issues  of  this  sort  were  put  forth,  ending  with  the  one 
for  July  1 6  (Vol.  vii.,  No.  3).  The  sheet  contained  four 
pages,  of  the  same  size  as  the  College  Courant,  and  the 
pagination  was  continuous  with  the  latter.  Its  heading 
was  identical  with  that  of  the  second  volume  of  the 
original  Yale  Courant^  and  its  last  page  only  was  devoted 
to  advertisements.  It  was  supplied  gratis  to  all  old 
subscribers  to  the  College  Courant,  and  was  sold  for  5 
cents  a  copy.  Though  numbered  to  correspond  with  that 
paper  and  like  it  dated  on  Saturday,  it  always  appeared 
on  the  previous  Wednesday  forenoon.  Beginning  with 
the  new  college  year  of  1870,  the  Yale  Courant  started 
forth  on  an  entirely  independent  career,  as  a  paper 
"  published  every  week  during  term  time"  (40  numbers 
a  year),  at  a  subscription  price  of  $2,  or  7  cents  a  copy. 
It  is  now  an  8-page  sheet, — the  size  of  the  sheet  being 
only  a  trifle  smaller  than  that  of  the  original  Courant  of 
1865, — and  its  last  two  or  three  pages  are  devoted  to 
advertisements.  It  is  printed  on  tinted  paper,  of  shades 
varying  from  lemon  to  buff,  and  in  its  heading 
acknowledges  itself  to  be  "  from  the  press  of  the  Col 
lege  Courant."  It  is  issued  each  Wednesday  noon  and 
dated  that  day,  though  numbered  partly  to  correspond 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  4^5 

with  the  College  Courant  of  the  following  Saturday  ;  thus, 
the  issue  of  Sept.  14,  1870,  was  styled,  "Old  Series, 
Vol.  vii.,  No.  220;  New  Series,  Vol.  i.,  No.  i."  The 
names  of  the  three  Seniors  who  are  its  editors  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  fourth  page,  and  are  the  only  ones  which 
appear,  though  Chatfield  &  Co.  still  remain  the  owners 
of  this  paper  as  well  as  of  the  other  one.  The  editors 
pick  out  from  the  new  senior  class  the  three  whom  they 
wish  to  recommend  as  their  successors,  and  with  these 
the  publishers  and  proprietors  make  a  bargain  for  the 
ensuing  year,  the  terms  of  which  are  such  as  to  ensure 
the  editors  about  $100  each  for  their  services.  The 
three  '71  editors,  under  whom  the  Yale  Courant  started 
as  an  independent  paper,  comprised  two  Bones  men  and 
one  neutral,  and  membership  in  a  senior  society  is  not 
henceforth  to  debar  a  man  from  election  to  editorship, 
though  it  is  probable  that  at  least  one  neutral  will  always 
be  retained  on  the  board.  The  originators  of  the  paper 
in  1865  were  all  senior  neutrals,  as  were  also  their  suc 
cessors  down  to  '70,  and  of  these  18  undergraduates  9 
belonged  to  Delta  Phi,  5  to  Psi  U  and  4  to  DKE  ;  5  to 
Sigma  Eps,  6  to  Delta  Kap,  and  7  to  Gamma  Nu.  By 
the  editors  of  '68  and  '69  a  small  gold  model  of  a  feather 
pen  was  sometimes  worn  as  a  badge  of  office.  The 
editorials,  contributions,  and  important  articles  of  the 
paper  are  printed  in  long-primer,  the  poetry  and  minor 
news-items — the  latter,  under  the  title  of  "  Yalensicula," 
introduced  by  '69 — in  brevier.  A  good  share  of  the 
copy  is  supplied  by  the  editors,  though  there  are  various 
undergraduate  contributors,  and  a  regular  reporter  for 
the  Scientific  School,  and  occasionally  a  college  officer 
or  gradaate  supplies  something.  There  is  very  little 
reprinted  matter,  and  very  little  of  any  sort  that  does 
not  in  some  way  relate  to  "Yale,"  An  edition  of  700 
is  printed  each  week,  and  almost  every  undergraduate  is 


466  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  subscriber  or  reader.  Subscriptions  have  never  been 
systematically  solicited  for  either  the  present  or  the 
original  Yale  Courant  or  for  the  College  Courant,  nor 
have  these  papers  ever  laid  claim  to  support  as  "  college 
institutions,"  like  the  Lit.  Undergraduates  and  others 
have  purchased  them  simply  for  the  sake  of  "  getting 
their  money's  worth  ;"  but  the  present  Yale  Courant  is 
more  respected  throughout  college  than  was  its  predeces 
sor,  and  the  other  one  is  hardly  read  at  all. 

The  original  office  of  the  Yale  Courant,  in  the  Glebe 
Building,  was  retained  by  its  successor,  the  College  Cou 
rant,  until  May,  1869,  when  it  was  removed  to  No.  297 
Chapel  street, — Benham  &  Son,  who  had  previously 
been  the  printers,  being  then  superseded  by  Hoggson  <Sc 
Robinson,  though  from  1867  the  proprietor  had  em 
ployed  his  own  compositors.  In  August,  1870,  he  set 
up  a  press  of  his  own,  in  his  new  quarters  on  Chapel 
street,  opposite  the  colleges,  and  there  both  papers  have 
since  been  printed  and  sold, — though  Hoadley  has  con 
tinued  distributing  agent  for  the  undergraduate  issue. 
During  three  days  of  Commencement  week  of  1870,  a 
4-page  daily  edition  of  the  College  Courant  was  issued, 
and  at  about  the  same  time  lithographic  "cartoons"  of 
the  two  new  dormitories  were  distributed  as  supplements 
to  the  paper.  Wood-cuts  of  new  college  buildings,  at 
Yale  and  elsewhere,  have  appeared  in  a  dozen  or  more 
cases,  and  portraits  of  college  presidents  and  professors, 
accompanied  by  biographical  notices,  have  found  a 
place,  perhaps  half  as  many  times.  With  every  volume 
except  the  first  (1865-6),  a  title-page  and  index  have 
been  supplied,  but  the  latter  has  been  carelessly  put 
together,  under  a  single  alphabet,  except  in  the  case  of 
the  last  two  volumes  (vii.-viii.,  July,  iS69~June,  1870), 
whose  indexes  devoted  an  alphabet  to  each  separate 
division  of  the  paper,  and  gave  references  to  every 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  46  7 

"  Yale  personal "  item,  and  every  paper  or  periodical 
quoted  or  referred  to.  On  the  title-page  the  Courant 
is  called  "  a  weekly  journal,  devoted  to  college  interests, 
science  and  literature."  At  the  head  of  its  editorial 
column,  from  the  first  number,  July  10,  1867,  appeared 
the  phrase,  "published  weekly  at  Yale  College,"  also 
the  statement  that  the  American  News  Co.  were  the  gen 
eral  agents  of  the  paper ;  from  Sept.  1 1  appeared  the 
"special  notice  to  subscribers";  from  March  20,  1869, 
the  "  newspaper  and  periodical  decisions  "  ;  from  May 
8,  the  "notice  to  advertisers";  and  from  June  12,  the 
"  contents  of  this  number  "  ;  also  at  the  head  of  its  lead 
ing  article,  on  the  third  page,  appeared  from  Feb.  20, 
1869,  tne  "invitation  to  contributors,"  and  from  Oct.  9, 
the  "  partial  list  of  contributors  "  — all  of  which  stereo 
types  were  swept  away,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
year,  and  their  place  supplied  by  the  brief  announce 
ment,  connected  with  the  list  of  contents,  on  the  outside 
page.  This  list  is  reprinted  in  the  Yale  Courant  of  the 
following  week,  and  often  on  the  last  page  of  the  Col 
lege  Courant  itself.  Beginning  with  this  issue  of  Jan.  7, 
1871,  the  pagination  was  restricted  to  the  12  pages  of 
reading  matter,  leaving  the  outside  advertising  sheet  of 
4  pages  to  be  thrown  off  by  the  binder, — and  besides  the 
other  changes  elsewhere  noted  a  "  The  "  was  added  to  the 
heading.  The  make-up  of  the  25  numbers  of  the  vol 
ume  which  began  then  and  ended  June  24,  was  uni 
formly  as  follows :  An  original  article,  with  the  writer's 
name  signed  at  the  end,  followed  by  one  or  two  selected  . 
articles,  credited  to  the  periodicals  from  which  they  were 
taken  and  to  the  authors  who  wrote  them,  if  their  names 
were  known..  Then  came  about  two  pages  of  short 
pieces  with  side  headings  under  the  general  heads  of 
"  Statistical,"  "  Current  Comment,"  and  "  Scientific," 
which  finished  up  the  first  five  pages  of  the  paper. 


468  *    FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  first  column  of  the  page  which  followed,  contained 
two  editorial  notes  (whose  titles  appeared  only  in  the 
contents),  followed  by  "  the  Lounger,"  about  two  and  a 
half  columns,  and  enough  book-notices,  under  side 
headings  and  the  general  title,  "Literary,"  to  exactly  fill 
out  the  page,  in  the  right  lower  corner  of  which  was 
usually  the  record  of  "  books  received."  An  exact  page 
was  next  devoted  to  "  College  Record,"  under  appropri 
ate  side  headings,  and  another  exact  page  to  "  Glean 
ings,"  or  short  items,  classified  from  week  to  week  under 
different  heads,  like  "personal,"  "  college,"  "undergrad 
uate,"  "  law  school,"  etc.,  though  the  first  almost  always 
appeared.  Then  came  a  column  or  two  of  "  Yale  Per 
sonals,"  alphabetically  arranged,  followed  occasionally 
by  a  "  Yale  Record  "  of  news  not  appearing  in  the  un 
dergraduate  paper,  and  by  miscellaneous  "  Short  Selec 
tions,"  under  side  headings,  enough  to  complete  the 
page.  Aside  from  the  opening  article,  the  editorial  and 
"literary"  matter,  nearly  everything  was  quoted,which  fact 
was  duly  acknowledged  by  a  brevier  credit-mark  at  the 
end.  The  last  two  pages  were  devoted  to  "  Yale  Con 
rant  Extracts,"  from  the  paper  of  the  previous  Wednes 
day,  with  perhaps  a  column  or  two  of  advertisements. 
Previous  to  this  Vol.  viii.,  the  make-up  of  the  paper 
had  been  largely  fortuitous  and  changed  about  from 
week  to  week.  There  was  also  a  much  larger  amount 
of  original  contributed  matter,  and  the  work  required  by 
the  editor  in  selecting  and  arranging  his  reprints  was 
much  less.  The  two  Courants,  whose  combined  price  is 
$6,  are  furnished  to  the  same  subscriber  for  $5  a  year. 
Up  to  close  of  1869,  much  of  the  work  on  the  paper  was 
performed  by  a  middle-aged  gentleman,  who  had  had 
experience  on  some  New  York  journals,  and  is  now  a 
practising  lawyer.  From  February  to  August,  1870,  it 
was  chiefly  managed  by  a  graduate  of  ''55,  though  up  to 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  469 

the  latter  date  the  proprietor  as  from  the  first  occasion 
ally  performed  a  share  of  the  work.     From  September, 
1870,  to  June,  1871,  it  was  wholly  controlled  and  car 
ried  on  by  a  graduate  of  '69,  except  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  advertisements,  which  were  controlled  by 
the  publisher,  and  with  the  literary  notices,  which  from 
February  onwards,  were  supplied  by  a  graduate  of  '70. 
These  book    notices    were  collected    together,  once   a 
month  and  reprinted,  in  the  form  of  an  8-page  advertis 
ing  sheet,  called  the  Book  Worm,  which  was  distributed 
among  the  patrons  of  the  College  Bookstore,  and  scat 
tered  about  the  city.     The  first  number  of   the   Book 
Worm  bore   date  of  March,  1871,  and  its  publication 
was  promised  for  at  least  twelve  months.    Its  "  subscrip 
tion  price  "  was  nominally  $i.     "The  Lounger,"  already 
referred  to,  appeared  in  the  35   numbers  between  Oct. 
22,  1870,  and  June   24,  1871.     Under  this  head  were 
printed  a  scries  of  lesser  editorials,  or  "minor  topics," 
expressed  in   the   third    person,   and    presenting,  in   a 
purely    informal  way,  various  reflections,  observations 
and  experiences,  for  the   most  part  concerning  college 
life  and  customs,  of  the  person  who  in  the  first  column 
expressed  the  "  sentiments  of  the  paper  "  with  the  edi 
torial    "we."      Three  or   four   topics   were    thus    each 
week    treated    of ;    and   a  bit  of  verse,    quoted    from 
some  out-of-the-way  book  or  periodical,  and  introduced 
by  "a  few  remarks,"  ended  up  each  number  of  "the 
Lounger." 

The  fact  that  the  end  of  college  life  is  approaching 
finds  its  earliest  recognition  in  the  preparations  made 
for  the  exchange  of  class  pictures.  A  few  weeks  after 
the  opening  of  the  fall  term,  the  Seniors,  in  class  meet 
ing  assembled,  elect  a  "picture  committee  "  of  four  or 
five  members,  and  decide  what  artist  they  will  employ 


47°  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

for  the  work — the  claims  of  the  two  or  three  competitors 
for  their  favor  having  been  well  discussed  beforehand. 
The  committee  then  enter  into  a  regular  contract  with  the 
chosen1  photographer,  who  ratifies  his  previous  promises, 
verbally  made,  by  signing  a  written  agreement  to  supply 
such  and  such  pictures  at  such  and  such  prices,  before 
a  certain  date,  six  or  eight  months  ahead.  Among  the 
specifications  is  a  clause  allowing  the  members  of  the 
committee  to  receive  their  own  pictures  without  charge, 
in  return  for  their  official  labors.  If,  as  is  usual,  the 
artist  is  not  a  resident  of  the  city,  he  either  rents  for  a 
time  the  rooms  of  one  of  the  local  photographers,  or 
constructs  a  temporary  structure  of  his  own  upon  some 
open  lot  in  the  vicinity  of  the  colleges.  The  committee 
then  bestir  themselves  to  arrange  the  times  of  "  sittings  " 
for  the  different  individuals,  including  the  faculty  as 
well  as  the  Seniors,  and  to  see  to  it  that  they  keep  their 
appointments.  Every  former  member  of  the  class  is  also 
called  upon  to  furnish  his  picture,  and  if  he  cannot  "  sit  " 
for  it  with  the  rest  in  New  Haven,  he  is  requested  to 
have  his  "  negative  "  taken  elsewhere,  at  the  expense  of 
the  class,  and  forwarded  to  their  artist's  headquarters. 
The  committee  also  decide  upon  the  various  views  which 
shall  be  taken  of  the  buildings  in  the  college  yard  and 
the  city,  interesting  points  in  and  around  New  Haven, 
class  groups,  etc.  When  all  the  "  proofs  "  have  been 
accepted — and  no  man  need  accept  his  picture  until  he 
has  had  as  many  "  sittings  "  as  he  cares  for — the  com 
mittee  issue  a  printed  catalogue  of  the  pictures,  com 
prising  lists  of  the  "  senior  class,"  "  former  members," 
"  faculty,"  and  "  views."  Two  other  lists — of  the  "  Scien 
tific  Seniors  "  and  their  "  former  members  " — also  figure 
upon  the  sheet,  when,  as  is  usually  the  case,  they  em 
ploy  the  same  artist  as  the  regular  Seniors,  and  act  in 
conjunction  with  the  latter,  through  a  special  committee 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  47  * 

of  their  own.  These  catalogue  sheets,  which  are  at  once 
distributed  throughout  the  class,  also  contain  direc 
tions  in  regard  to  the  price  of  the  pictures  and  blank 
forms  for  ordering  them.  Each  Senior  orders  enough 
copies  of  his  own  picture  to  exchange  with  every  other 
classmate,  and  as  many  more  as  he  chooses ;  also  such 
of  the  former  members,  of  the  faculty,  and  of  the  views 
as  he  may  care  to  select,  if  he  does  not  decide  to  take 
them  all.  He  then  indicates  the  money  value  of  his 
order,  signs  his  name  thereto,  and  hands  it  in  to  the 
committee,  who  forward  it  to  the  photographer,  —  it 
being  specified  of  course  that  all  orders  must  be  sent  in 
before  a  certain  day,  to  make  sure  of  securing  the  pic 
tures  at  the  time  promised  in  the  contract. 

Early  in  the  third  term  comes  the  report  that  a  box  of 
pictures  has  arrived,  and  the  Seniors  make  a  wild  rush 
to  the  room  of  the  chief  committee-man,  to  assure  them 
selves  of  its  truth.  The  result  of  each  man's  order  is 
enclosed  in  a  separate  bundle,  accompanied  by  a  bill, 
which  must  be  paid  to  the  committee  before  the  pictures 
can  be  removed  from  the  room.  Sometimes  the  orders 
of  the  entire  class  may  be  filled  by  the  first  arrival ;  but 
more  commonly  the  pictures  keep  coming  until  close 
upon  Presentation  Day  itself.  The  contents  of  the  first 
box  is  no  sooner  distributed,  however,  than  the  work  of 
exchanging  begins.  As  soon  as  a  man  receives  his 
bundle  he  withdraws  to  his  room,  and  affixes  his  auto 
graph  to  his  pictures, — perhaps  laying  aside  the  best  of 
them  for  his  particular  friends, — and  is  then  ready  to 
receive  callers.  He  has  not  long  to  wait  for  them,  for 
his  name  was  posted  upon  the  door  of  the  committee's 
room  in  the  list  of  "  picture  arrivals "  as  soon  as  he 
withdrew  therefrom  with  his  bundle,  and  the  hungry 
hangers-on  at  once  noised  it  abroad;  so,  hour  after 
hour,  the  "  rap,  rap,  rap  !  "  is  followed  by  the  "  Come 


47 2  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

in  !  "  "  Hullo  !  Pictures  come  ?"  "  Yes,  help  yourself !  " 
And  each  visitor  paws  over  the  pile  upon  the  table, 
picks  out  "  the  best,"  and  goes  on  to  the  next  room  upon 
his  list.  If  he  chance  to  occupy  a  room  outside  of  col 
lege,  he  may  perhaps  bring  along  a  bundle  of  his  own 
pictures,  and  distribute  them  as  he  calls  ;  otherwise  he 
usually  leaves  them  in  the  charge  of  a  friend  who  rooms 
in  college,  and  refers  all  applicants  to  him.  Each  man 
carries  with  him  one  of  the  printed  lists,  upon  which 
he  checks  off  the  names  of  those  to  whom  he  gives  or 
from  whom  he  receives  pictures.  Many  when  absent 
from  their  rooms  leave  their  doors  open,  with  their  pic 
tures  spread  upon  the  table,  accompanied  by  the  request, 
"  Help  yourselves,  and  check  your  names  upon  this  list." 
But  some  collectors  are  not  so  particular  in  making  their 
choices  as  those  that  have  been  described,  and  simply 
take  the  first  on  the  pile,  or  shout  from  beneath  the  win 
dow :  "Oh  Jim!"  "Hullo!"  "Sling  out  your  pic 
ture  !  "  "  Autograph  ? "  "  Yes;  no;  I  don't  care ;  toss  'er 
out !  "  And  out  it  comes. 

While  this  picture  traffic  is  going  on,  the  final  exami 
nations  are  also  in  progress,  and  cramming  therefor  is 
sadly  interrupted  by  these  frequent  visits.  So  the  oak 
is  often  sported,  and  notices  of  "  No  pictures  here," 
"  Pictures  exchanged  after  the  next  examination,"  and 
so  on,  become  common.  In  the  afternoon  succeeding 
each  session  of  the  "Annual,"  exchanges  are  especially 
brisk  ;  for  then  many  whose  bundles  have  arrived  at  the 
committee's  room  during  the  few  preceding  days  first 
take  them  out,  and  all  enter  into  "picture  hunting"  as 
an  agreeable  relaxation  from  the  anxieties  of  examina 
tion.  By  Presentation  Day  the  lists  are  about  com 
pleted,  and  the  pictures  are  arranged  and  sent  off  to  the 
binder.  Some  place  the  graduating  class  in  alphabetical 
order  in  one  book,  and  devote  another  to  the  faculty, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  473 

former  members,  and  views,  but  a  majority  content  them 
selves  with  a  single  volume,  into  which  150  or  200  pic 
tures  are  crowded.  The  pictures  are  of  the  "imperial" 
style,  about  12  by  14  inches  in  size,  and  cost  from  20  to 
25  cents  for  portraits,  and  from  30  to  35  cents  for  views, — 
the  higher  prices  named  being  those  paid  by  '69.  The 
cost  of  binding  varies  from  $10  to  $20  ;  and  if  a  man  is 
disposed  to  be  luxurious,  collects  the  whole  250  pictures 
taken  by  the  artist,  and  binds  them  handsomely  in  two 
volumes,  his  class  albums  may  cost  him  upwards  of  $100, 
though  the  average  expenditure  for  the  purpose  is 
probably  not  much  more  than  half  that  amount.  In 
every  class  there  are  two  or  three  who  cannot  afford  to 
exchange,  and  their  pictures  are  therefore  ordered 
directly  from  headquarters,  like  those  of  the  former 
members  and  faculty.  The  autographs  of  the  latter  are 
also  procured  by  some,  though  most  have  the  good  sense 
not  to  impose  upon  their  good  nature  in  this  way. 
Besides  the  "  imperials  "  for  binding,  several  large  views 
suitable  for  framing,  and  costing  $i  or  $2  apiece,  are 
taken  of  the  various  college  buildings,  etc.  Many  of 
the  small  card-size  photographs  are  also  taken,  though 
this  is  not  a  class  matter,  and  is  recognized  by  the  com 
mittee  in  their  contract  only  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  individual  Seniors  who  may  wish  to  supply  them 
selves  with  such  pictures  at  greatly  reduced  prices  ; 
since,  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the  job,  the  rates 
for  any  kind  of  work  are  only  about  one  fourth  as  large 
as  those  charged  to  individual  purchasers  of  single  pic 
tures.  Under  the  contract  with  '69,  upwards  of  30,000 
photographs  were  supplied,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
lowest  number  demanded  of  late  years  has  not  fallen 
more  than  5,000  short  of  that.  The  class  present  their 
pictures  (in  a  costly  and  often  elaborately  ornamented 
binding)  to  the  library,  and  the  senior  and  junior  societies 


474  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

also  receive  the  likenesses  of  their  departing  members. 
The  custom  of  the  members  thereof  giving  their  pictures 
to  the  libraries  of  Linonia  and  Brothers  ended  with  the 
class  of  '59. 

The  system  of  exchanging,  just  described,  was  that 
employed  by  '69  and  several  preceding  classes ;  but  the 
plan  adopted  since  then,  differs  from  it  in  many  essential 
particulars.  Under  the  old  system,  the  bulk  of  the  work 
was  performed  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  who 
received  no  more  for  his  services  than  his  official  com 
panions,  who  did  little  or  nothing.  Latterly,  a  single 
responsible  Senior  is  elected  to  have  charge  of  the  mat 
ter,  and  is  paid  a  good  salary  by  the  photographer,  in 
return  for  doing  all  the  intermediate  work.  Then,  too, 
instead  of  each  man's  ordering  a  large  number  of  his 
own  pictures,  and  exchanging  them  personally  with 
every  other  individual  in  the  class,  he  orders  the  pictures 
of  his  classmates  as  he  does  those  of  the  former  mem 
bers  and  the  faculty— directly  from  the  photographer. 
He  thus  of  course  loses  the  privilege  of  selecting  "  the 
best"  from  a  large  pile  of  pictures,  and  must,  as  before, 
make  a  special  visit  to  each  man  whose  autograph  he 
desires,  though  even  then  the  time  and  trouble  required 
are  much  lessened.  But  the  great  advantage  of  the 
plan  is  that  each  man  can  decide  for  himself  how  many 
pictures  he  will  take.  Doubtless  the  majority  will  as 
before  procure  all  of  their  classmates'  likenesses  ;  but 
many  who  under  the  old  system  were  forced  into  buying 
all,  through  fear  of  appearing  "  mean"  if  they  "  refused 
to  exchange,"  though  they  cared  for  only  a  few  of  them, 
are  now  left  free  to  purchase  only  such  pictures  as  they 
really  desire  to  possess.  Though  the  aggregate  sales  of 
the  photographer  may  thus  be  somewhat  lessened, 
the  satisfaction  of  his  patrons  is  quite  sure  to  be 
increased. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  475 

The  idea  of  class  pictures  may  perhaps  have  arisen 
from  the  practice  in  vogue  among  the  senior-society  men 
and  other  special  friends,  as  the  course  drew  near  its 
end,  of  exchanging  their  daguerreotypes,  taken  singly  or 
in  groups,  as  the  case  might  be.      Every   Senior,  too, 
used  to  procure  him  an   "  autograph  book,"  and  per 
suade  his  classmates  to  append  their  signatures  to  some 
"  happy  sentiment"  in  prose  or  verse  written  therein  by 
them.     It  was  in  1847  that  the  exchange  of  pictures  was 
made  a  class  matter.      Daguerreotypes  of  each  other 
were  then  procured  by   a  majority   of   the  graduating 
class  ;  and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  four  classes 
which  succeeded  them.     The  set  of  pictures  presented 
to  the  college  was  enclosed  in  a  large  mahogany  frame, 
on  which  the  name  of  the  class  was  gilded.     Trumbull 
Gallery  was  the  original  resting  place  of  these  collec 
tions,  which  now  hang  in  Alumni  Hall.     At  the  instance 
of  C.  T.  Seropyan,  one  of  their  number,  the  class  of '52 
procured    lithographic    portraits, — each    stone    costing 
about   $12.      Their    successors  of  the   three  following 
years  did  likewise, — F.   Michelin   and  E.  Valois  being 
the  chief  artists  employed.      Photographs  were   intro 
duced  by  '56,  and  steel  engravings  by  '57,  though  in 
this  year  there  were  a  few  photographs  and  lithographs 
also.      A.   H.  Ritchie  of  New  York  executed  most  of 
these,  at  a  cost  of  about  $20  a  plate.     Several  portraits 
of  the  faculty  and  views  of  the  colleges  used  also  to  be 
engraved  at  the  expense  of  the  class.     In  '58  and  '59, 
almost  every  man  bought  a  steel  plate  likeness  of  him 
self,  but  the  following  year  only  half  the  class  did  so, — 
the  artist,  Sartain  of  Philadelphia,  not  giving  good  sat 
isfaction, — and  in  '61    some  60   individuals  patronized 
the  engraver,  and  the  rest  of  the  class  the  photographer. 
Since  then,  the  class  pictures  have  always  been  photo 
graphs.     In  '63,  Prescott  of  Hartford — who   took  the 


47 6  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

pictures  of  '70  and  '71 — was  the  artist  employed;  San- 
born  of  Lowell  did  the  work  for  the  three  classes  end 
ing  with  '67  j  Warren  of  Cambridge  for  '68 ;  and 
Sarony  of  New  York  for  '69  ;  while  Moulthrop  or  some 
other  New  Haven  photographer  had  the  contract  during 
the  other  years.  The  best  of  the  steel-engraved  por 
traits  are  shown  in  the  book  of  '59,  while  that  of  '69  is 
equally  pre-eminent  among  the  photographic  likenesses. 
Lithographic  title-pages  of  various  designs,  for  the 
class  albums,  are  issued  nearly  every  year  by  individual 
Seniors  or  city  booksellers.  One  that  was  put  forth  by 
a  '69  man  was  simply  an  enlarged  representation  of  the 
"  class  stamp,"  and  as  this  was  perhaps  the  best  use  to 
which  such  a  stamp  was  ever  put,  the  subject  of  class 
stamps  or  seals  may  be  appropriately  treated  of  at  this 
point.  They  originated  in  the  class  of  '58,  having 
probably  been  suggested  by  the  official  seal  of  the  col 
lege,  as  they  always  bore,  in  one  form  or  another,  the 
open  Hebrew  book  which  is  its  chief  device.  They  all 
agreed,  furthermore,  in  indicating  the  college,  the  class, 
and  the  class  motto,  but  differed  in  the  mode  of  doing 
so,  and  in  the  various  kinds  of  ornamental  work,  such 
as  wreaths,  chains,  stars,  rays,  flags,  shields,  etc.,  which 
made  up  the  body  of  the  seal.  Several  were  round, 
some  shield-shaped,  some  in  the  form  of  a  scroll, — the 
size  varying  in  different  years  from  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  diameter.  They  were  not  printed  with 
ink  but  simply  embossed,  appearing  upon  envelopes  and 
note-paper,  the  title-pages  of  text  books,  or  anything 
else  of  the  sort  that  one  chose  to  offer  for  the  purpose. 
In  '66  a  steel-plate  was  first  used — an  owl  being  repre 
sented  with  a  pair  of  dice,  which  had  fallen  with  the 
sixes  uppermost.  In  '67  the  committee  devised  an 
elaborate  design  of  globe,  ink-bottle,  books,  wreath, 
pipes,  decanter  and  glass,  but  if  it  was  engraved  no 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  477 

copies  were  ever  known  of  in  the  class.  The  next  class 
made  no  attempt  to  procure  a  seal,  but  '69,  inspired 
thereto  by  the  hard  labor  of  a  single  individual,  man 
aged  to  put  one  forth  toward  the  close  of  sophomore 
year.  It  was  a  steel-plate  affair,  very  finely  engraved,  a 
little  more  than  an  inch  across  at  its  broadest  part,  and 
cost  with  the  impressions  about  $30,  which  amount  was 
raised  by  a  half-dollar  tax  levied  upon  all  who  made  use 
of  the  stamp.  It  was  printed  in  any  desired  color,  upon 
glazed  card-board,  or  upon  such  paper  and  envelopes  as 
individuals  chose  to  supply.  No  subsequent  class  has 
taken  any  action  in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  the  "  cus 
tom,"  never  popular  or  endowed  with  much  vitality,  will 
perhaps  not  again  be  revived.  The  seal  was  about  the 
only  thing  that  kept  the  class  motto  in  memory,  and  the 
motto  itself  was  apparently  chosen  only  for  the  sake  of 
the  seal.  These  mottoes  have  been  as  follows:  '58, 
Fortiter,fideliter,  feliciter  ;  '59,  Ov  doxeiv,  'all'  tivai , •  '60, 
Spectemur  agendo  ;'6i,  To).[ia  aocp&oOai ;  '62,'Exdozo) 
(jvfjpaxot  Ttdrr^  ;  '63, ' Odor  wnrfiw  i]  TtoiijGco  ;  '64,  'ExaGTtj 
?/  vi'M]  11$  'odo*'  &Utyr  '65,  Ov  loyoiGi  '«?.?.'  'ioyotGi ;  '66, 
To  xoivbv  awdsi;  '67,  K?JQ  tv,  (tia  'odo^  ;  '69,  Qui  nucleum 
vult,  nucem  frangat.  It  seems  unlikely  that  mottoes 
were  very  common  before  '58,  but  mention  is  made  of 
'48's — "  Esse  quam  vicleri" — and  perhaps  there  were 
others. 

The  individuals  most  gratified  by  the  issue  of  class 
stamps  are  the  " memorabil  hunters."  "Memorabilia" 
— abbreviated  to  "memorabil  " — is  the  name  given  to 
every  printed  thing  connected  in  any  way  with  the  col 
lege,  especially  to  things  of  a  trifling  and  ephemeral 
character,  like  the  programmes  of  the  various  college 
exhibitions,  admission  tickets,  election  cards,  supper 
bills,  etc.  ;  and  the  "  memorabil  hunters  "  are  the  per 
sons  who  become  distinguished  for  their  pertinacity  and 


47 8  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

success  in  collecting  this  "memorabil."  Probably  the 
use  of  the  word  in  the  Lit.  led  to  its  employment  with 
its  present  significance.  Most  collectors  devote  their 
chief  energies  to  perfecting  a  "  class  memorabil,"  and 
some  confine  their  efforts  entirely  to  this  one  field. 
Perhaps  as  many  as  a  third  of  the  class  pay  some  little 
attention  to  the  subject,  laying  aside  with  more  or  less 
regularity  such  programmes  and  things  of  the  kind  as 
come  in  their  way,  but  by  the  time  that  senior  year  is 
reached  the  regular  "  hunters  "  are  not  often  more  than 
half  a  dozen  in  number, — some  who  at  first  aspired  to 
be  such,  having  dropped  from  the  ranks,  on  finding 
their  own  want  of  the  real  antiquarian  spirit.  These 
few  who  remain  faithful  to  the  end,  however,  procure 
large  scrap-books,  bound,  stamped  and  lettered  es 
pecially  for  the  purpose,  and  arrange  therein  their  trea 
sures.  Opening  a  Senior's  memorabil  book,  you  will 
perhaps  find  the  poster  of  his  freshman  society  serving 
as  a  title-page,  followed  by  those  of  the  other  two,  and 
their  lists  of  members  from  his  class,  both  in  freshman 
and  sophomore  year  ;  all  the  newspaper  items  in  regard 
to  the  gate  stealing  or  rushes  in  which  his  class  took 
part ;  a  piece  of  a  Sophomore's  shirt  or  hat-band,  cap 
tured  in  some  historic  rush  ;  programmes  of  the  fresh 
man  prize  debates;  lists  of  the  sophomore  elections;  a  lock 
of  Freshman's  hair  ;  the  silk  badges  of  Yale  and  other 
colleges,  examination  papers  ;  "  letters  home  "  ;  society 
song-books,  vignettes  and  monograms  ;  Lit.  posters 
and  subscription  receipts  ;  Navy  bulletins  ;  furniture  ad 
vertisements  ;  anything  and  everything  capable  of  being 
inserted  in  a  scrap-book,  that  will  serve  as  a  remem 
brance  of  the  life  led  by  his  class  at  Yale.  To  one  who 
has  not  considered  the  matter,  the  amount  of  memorabil 
thus  gathered  in  relation  to  a  single  class  alone  will 
appear  astonishing.  The  senior  societies  also  make 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  479 

such  collections,  and  the  college  library  preserves  copies 
of  the  more  important  prints.  Like  any  antiquarian,  the 
memorabil  hunter  prizes  a  thing  for  its  rarity  rather 
than  its  worth,  and  the  promise  of  a  bill-of-fare  of  a 
Coch  initiation  or  Lit.  supper,  of  which  no  extra  copies 
were  printed,  will  set  him  wild  with  delight.  The  appli 
cation  of  the  word  is  extended  to  almost  everything  \ — 
a  college  man  who  preserves  his  banger,  or  Annual  hat, 
or  Z//.,  or  Courant,  being  said  to  "  keep  them  for 
memorabil." 

Presentation  Day  is  the  Senior's  own  peculiar  festival, 
whereby  he  celebrates  the  definite  closing  of  his  active 
college  life.     It  is  the  oldest  of  the  student  "  institu 
tions," — having  existed  in  some  form  for  nearly-  a  cen 
tury  and  a  half, — and  is  the  only  one   formally  recog 
nized  by  the  faculty.     Indeed,  its  character  seems  in  the 
first   place    to  have  been    almost   wholly  official, — the 
formal  "presentation,"  which  has  now  been  done  away 
with,  being  considered  the  chief  feature  of  the  occasion, 
and  the  literary  exercises  of  the  students  being  regarded 
as  merely  incidental  to  the  other.     They  were  often  dis 
pensed  with  altogether,  and,  when  given,  the  speakers 
seem  to  have  been  appointed  by  the  president  or  facul 
ty  instead  of  elected  by  their  classmates.    The  ceremony 
of  "presentation,"  from  which  the  day  took  its  name, 
was  this  :  The  final  examination  having  been  completed, 
the  senior  tutor,  or  other  deputed  officer,  in  behalf  of  the 
examiners,  "presented"  to  the  president,  as  candidates 
for    their    bachelor's    degrees,    the    Seniors    who    had 
"  passed  "  successfully, — the  introductory  speech  being 
made    in  Latin,  and  the  president  responding  in    the 
same    language.     At    the    president's    order,  the  tutor 
sometimes  read  aloud  the  names  of  the  candidates  thus 
"  presented."     All  this  used  to  be  done  with  the  closest 


480  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

adherence  to  set  ceremonial  forms, — the  Commons  Hall, 
library,  or  lecture  room  being  the  place,  and  the  college 
officers  the  only  witnesses  of  the  proceeding,  and  the 
literary  exercises,  if  there  were  any,  taking  place  at  the 
chapel  several  hours  afterwards. 

At  the  earlier  presentations  a  huge  bowl  of  punch  is 
said  to  have  been  provided,  and  drank  by  the  officers 
and  students  in  celebration  of  the  event.  Owing  to  the 
omission  of  several  Commencements  during  the  Revolu 
tionary  war,  the  Presentation  Day  of  1778  was  more 
extensively  celebrated  than  any  previous  occasion  of  the 
kind  had  been.  The  formal  presentation  having  been 
made  in  the  library  a  couple  of  hours  before,  "  at  half- 
past  three  the  bell  tolled,  and  the  assembly  convened  in 
the  chapel,  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  president  intro 
duced  the  exercises  in  a  Latin  speech,"  and  the  names 
of  the  Seniors  who  had  been  previously  presented  were 
read  aloud.  Then  followed  two  "  cliosophic  orations  " 
in  Latin,  a  "dialogue,"  a  "disputation"  (in  each  of 
which  three  took  part),  a  "  poetical  composition,"  and  a 
"  valedictory  oration  "  in  English.  The  exercises  were 
two  hours  in  length  and  concluded  with  the  singing  of 
an  anthem.  Of  those  who  took  part,  the  orator,  Tracy, 
was  afterwards  U.  S.  Senator  ;  the  poet,  Barlow,  was 
ambassador  to  France  ;  one  of  the  cliosophic  orators, 
Meigs,  was  professor  of  mathematics ;  the  other,  Web 
ster,  was  the  lexicographer ;  and  of  the  rest,  Walcott 
was  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury,  Miller  and 
Swift  were  judges  of  the  Connecticut  supreme  court,  and 
Smith  was  a  judge  in  Vermont.  Mention  is  made  of 
William  S.  Johnson  as  the  class  orator  of  1744,  his 
Latin  "  cliosophic  "  oration  being  apparently  the  only 
literary  production  attendant  upon  the  Presentation  of 
that  year.  "  Sometimes  a  member  of  the  class  exhibited 
an  English  oration,  which  was  responded  to  by  some 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  481 

one  of  the  faculty,  generally  by  one  who  had  been  the 
principal  instructor  of  the  class  presented.     A  case  of 
this   kind   occurred    in    1776,    when    Mr. —  afterwards 
President — Dwight,  responded  to  the  class  orator  in  an 
address,  which,   being  delivered  in  the   same  July  in 
which    Independence    was    declared,    drew    from    its 
patriotic  allusions,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  unusual 
attention.     It   was    published,  —  a    rare    thing    at  that 
period.     Another  response  was  delivered  in  1796,  by  J. 
Stebbins,  tutor,  which  was  likewise  published.     There 
has  been  no  exhibition  of  the  kind  since."     A  writer  of 
20  years  ago  states  that  it  was  then  customary  for  the 
class  to  be  met  in  the  president's  lecture  room  by  the 
chairman  of  the  faculty  and  the  senior  tutor,  the  latter 
of  whom   read   the    names   of  the    Seniors   who   were 
"through."     They  then  adjourned  to  the  Chapel,  where 
the  names  were  again  read  by  the  tutor,  a  presentation 
speech  in  Latin  was  made  by  the  professor  of  that  lan 
guage,  and  responded  to  by  the  president,  and  the  poem 
and  oration  were  then  pronounced.     The  reading  of  the 
names  has  been  dispensed  with  since  1861  ;  the  presen 
tation  speech  was  apparently  given  up  then  or  shortly 
afterwards  ;  and  the   short  Latin  address  of  the  presi 
dent,  congratulating  the   faculty  on  having  transferred 
another  class  oipiteri  et  rudes  inculti  mtojuvenes  eximii,  is 
about  the  last  of  these  traditional  rites  of  the  day  now  left. 
The  class  now  assemble  at  the  Lyceum,  shortly  before 
the  hour,  and  at  half-past  ten  march  into  the  Chapel  and 
take  their  usual  seats — for  the   last  time— in   the  front 
pews  of  the  central  aisle, — all  former  members  of  the 
class  who  may  be  in  attendance  going  with  them.     The 
president  alone  occupies  the  pulpit,  and  the  rest  of  the 
faculty  the  front  seats  of  the  side  aisle  at  the  speaker's 
right  hand.     The  remainder  of  the  house   is   packed  to 
its  utmost  by  the  "  friends  of  the  speakers/'  the  class 

22 


482  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

and  the  college.  Most  of  the  undergraduates  who 
attend  occupy  seats  or  "  standing-room  "  in  the  galleries 
and  perhaps  two-thirds  of  them  are  there,  the  Juniors 
sending  the  most  and  the  Freshmen  the  fewest  repre 
sentatives.  As  soon  as  the  class  is  seated,  the  presi 
dent  after  making  his  little  speech  in  Latin,  announces 
their  poet,  who,  ascending  the  stage,  delivers  the  "  class 
poem,"  three  or  four  hundred  lines  in  length,  generally 
to  a  great  extent  devoted  to  the  old,  old  story  of  col 
lege  life  and  aspirations,  and  expressed  in  a  variety  of 
meters.  Short  episodes  upon  kindred  topics  are  usually 
introduced,  and  sometimes  the  poet  takes  a  set  theme 
and  follows  it  through  to  the  end,  perhaps  without 
change  of  meter, — referring  to  the  class,  if  at  all,  only 
in  the  closing  lines.  This  proceeding  is  not  common, 
however,  and  is  never  popular — at  least  with  the  stu 
dent  part  of  the  audience.  To  a  "class  poem"  the 
ordinary  rules  of  criticism  cannot  fairly  be  applied. 
The  one  test  of  its  merit  is  the  appreciation  of  it  by  the 
class  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  If  they  are  satisfied 
with,  and  approve  of,  and  applaud  it,  it  is  a  success, — 
even  though  there  be  little  poetry  or  rhyme  about  it, 
and  though  to  outsiders  it  lack  reason  also.  The  ora 
tion  forthwith  follows.  It  generally  treats  of  some  topic 
fit  for  the  occasion  when  a  hundred  young  men  arc 
about  to  start  out  in  life.  "  Self-made  men  "  were  com 
pared  with  "  school-made  men  "  by  the  orator  of  '69, 
who,  in  concluding  simply  addressed  a  few  parting 
words  to  the  class.  Before  that,  it  had  been  customary, 
before  saying  farewell  to  the  class  itself,  to  offer  separ 
ate  valedictories  to  the  remaining  classes,  the  faculty 
and  the  president,  the  latter  rising  by  way  of  recogni 
tion  ;  but  the  precedent  thus  set  was  approved  by 
all  parties  and  will  doubtless  be  followed  hereafter.  At 
the  close  of  the  oration,  the  president  announces  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE. 

award  of  prizes  and  scholarships  for  the  term  ;  and  then 
comes  the  "  parting  ode,"  written  by  one  of  the  class, 
and  printed  in  full  upon  the  programmes  which  bear  the 
name  of  orator  and  poet.  Since  1856  it  has  always 
been  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  and  the 
production  of  it  every  year  probably  first  suggested  to 
some  one  that  other  original  songs  to  other  tunes  might 
be  written  for  other  occasions.  The  audience  is  then 
dismissed  with  a  benediction, — the  exercises  having 
been  a  little  more  than  an  hour  in  length.  Programmes 
were  first  supplied  in  '56,  though  printed  copies  of  the 
ode  were  distributed  as  early  as  1830.  The  air  to  which 
to  ode  was  sung  was  usually  changed  each  year. 

At  about  half-past  one,  the  faculty,  alumni,  graduat 
ing  class,  and  invited  guests  assemble  at  Alumni  Hall 
to  partake  of  a  ''collation"  provided  by  the  former. 
The  Seniors  march  up,  two  by  two,  to  the  door  of  the 
hall,  followed  by  the  others — the  chief  dignitaries  being 
in  the  extreme  rear.  Ranks  are  then  opened,  and  be 
tween  the  two  rows  of  uncovered  heads  "  the  last  come 
first"  to  enter  the  hall,  and  so  the  rows  keep  doubling 
in  upon  themselves  till  at  the  hall  door  nothing  is  left 
of  them.  The  "  collation  "  though  good  is  a  "  cold  "  one 
and  quite  informal,  the  eatables  being  arranged  upon  a 
long  table — stretched  across  the  west  side  of  the  hall — 
behind  which  are  numerous  waiters.  The  graduates 
seat  themselves  at  the  little  octagonal  examination- 
tables  scattered  about  the  hall,  and  the  Seniors  and 
faculty  act  as  impromptu  waiters  in  supplying  their 
needs,  after  which  they  help  themselves.  All  mean 
while  arc  chatting  with  one  another,  changing  their 
seats  and  moving  about,  but  there  are  no  set  speeches 
or  ceremonials  of  any  sort.  In  about  an  hour  the  "col 
lation  "  is  finished,  and  with  it,  the  traditional,  semi 
official  part  of  Presentation  Day, — for  this  dinner  is  also 


484  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  thing  of  very  ancient  date,  probably  running  back  a 
good  ways  into  the  last  century,  and  perhaps  being 
originally  nothing  but  an  "  extra  spread  "  prepared  by 
the  stewards  in  Commons  Hall.  The  remaining  cere 
monies  of  the  day  are  entirely  carried  out  by  the  stu 
dents,  but  before  going  on  to  describe  them  it  may  be 
well  to  offer  a  few  further  particulars  as  to  the  orator 
and  poet. 

They  are  elected  by  the  Seniors  at  a  class  meeting 
held  on  the  fourth  Saturday  of  the  second  term.  The 
position  of  orator  is  regarded  as  the  highest  office  that 
a  class  can  confer  upon  one  of  their  number,  and  that 
of  poet  is  but  little  inferior  to  it.  The  two  are  offered 
to  the  public  as  the  best  representatives  of  the  general 
talent  of  the  class,  as  distinguished  from  scholarship ; 
and  consequently,  other  things  being  equal,  "  low-stand 
men"  are  more  likely  to  be  chosen  than  those  high  on 
the  appointment  list  of  the  faculty.  This  election  gives 
the  last  chance  for  the  exercise  of  college  politics,  and 
many  conflicting  interests  enter  into  it.  The  senior 
societies  almost  always  contain  the  men  best  fitted  to 
represent  their  class,  but  the  neutrals  are  this  year  in 
the  majority,  and  are  often  disposed  to  take  advantage 
of  the  fact  by  electing  one  of  their  own  number  to 
office, — considering  this  as  a  sort  of  punishment  to  the 
senior  societies  for  not  taking  him  in,  and  as  a  sort  of 
reward  for  him  personally  which  may  in  part  make  up 
for  his  discomfiture  in  not  being  taken  in  by  them. 
The  course  of  senior  politics  in  '69  may  serve  as  an 
example,  though  the  circumstances  of  two  successive 
classes  are  never  apt  to  be  exactly  alike.  In  that  class, 
the  best  "  poet  "  and  "  orator  "  belonged  to  Bones,  but 
that  society  knowing  that  the  class  would  not  elect  more 
than  one  of  its  representatives,  decided  to  "run  "for 
orator  simply  and  support  a  certain  neutral  for  poet. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  45 

Keys  on  the  other  hand  entered  a  candidate  for  poet, 
and  voted  for  the  Diggers'  candidate  for  orator,  in 
return  for  the  Diggers'  votes  for  its  candidate.  The 
majority  of  the  class,  being  outside  of  all  these  arrange 
ments,  were  influenced  in  addition  by  considerations  of 
the  junior-society  connections  of  the  different  candi 
dates,  their  personal  popularity  and  individual  fitness 
for  their  positions,  and  voted  variously, — the  result 
being  that  the  Bones  man  and  the  neutral  were  elected. 
Had  the  latter  been  a  society  man  his  name  would  never 
have  been  thought  of, — not  but  that  his  duties  were  per 
formed  acceptably  enough.  It  should  be  understood 
that  these  senior  political  arrangements — unlike  those 
of  junior  year  and  before — are  entirely  informal, — there 
being  no  set  coalitions,  agreements  or  bargains  of  any 
sort,  or  any  recognition  of  societies  in  the  matter. 
There  are  simply  "understandings  "  that  if  certain  indi 
viduals  are  "  run  "  certain  other  individuals  will  vote 
for  them,  and  the  reverse.  A  man's  membership  in  a 
senior  society  diminishes  his  chances  of  election  to 
office,  so  far  as  it  affects  them  at  all,  and  hence  a  class 
bestows  a  greater  mark  of  its  confidence  in  choosing  a 
society  man  than  in  choosing  a  neutral. 

Occasionally  men  rise  superior  to  their  prejudices  and 
see  the  folly  of  injuring  themselves  for  the  sake  of  spit 
ing  a  society.  A  notable  example  of  this  was  shown  in 
the  class  of  '70,  whose  orator  and  poet,  oddly  enough, 
were  members  of  the  same  societies  throughout  the 
course :  Sigma  Eps,  Theta  Psi,  Psi  U,  Bones.  In  five 
other  instances— '33,  '60,  '61,  '63  and  '66— both  were 
Bones  men,  and  in  '53  both  were  members  of  Keys. 
In  ii  classes  both  were  neutrals  and  in  5,  besides  the 
7  mentioned,  both  were  senior-society  men  ;  leaving  15 
classes  in  which  one  was  a  society  man  and  one  a  neu 
tral.  Of  the  38  orators— '33  to  '71  — 15  have  belonged 


FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

to  Bones,  6  to  Keys,  i  to  Diggers,  and  16  have  been 
neutrals;  of  the  poets,  13  to  Bones,  4  to  Keys,  and  21 
have  been  neutrals.  Of  the  junior  societies  :  Delta  Phi, 
in  the  3  classes  before  '40  had  2  orators  and  one  poet. 
In  the  next  4  years  Psi  U  had  all  the  poets,  and  Delta 
Phi  one  orator,  the  remaining  three  being  neutrals.  Of 
the  27  orators,  '44  to  '71,  Delta  Phi  has  had  6,  Psi  U 
10,  DKE  5  and  neutrals  6  ;  of  the  poets,  Delta  Phi  has 
had  4,  Psi  U  10,  DKE  n  and  neutrals  2.  On  two 
occasions  Delta  Phi  had  both ;  Psi  U  twice  likewise, 
DKE  once,  and  once  both  were  neutrals.  Of  the  fresh 
man  societies  :  Sigma  Eps  previous  to  '49  had  2  orators. 
In  the  9  classes,  '49  to  '58,  Sigma  Eps  had  one  orator 
and  one  poet,  Delta  Kap  6  orators  and  7  poets,  while 
two  orators  and  one  poet  were  neutrals.  Of  the  13 
orators,  '59  to  '71,  Sigma  Eps  has  had  5,  Delta  Kap  4 
and  Gamma  Nu  4 ;  of  the  poets,  Sigma  Eps  5,  Delta 
Kap  7  and  Gamma  Nu  i.  On  five  occasions  Delta 
Kap,  and  once  Sigma  Eps,  has  had  both  poet  and  orator. 
Eleven  of  the  poets  and  6  of  the  orators  have  been  Lit. 
editors,  and  in  three  classes — '41,  '52  and  '61 — both 
officers  were  drawn  from  their  number.  The  Cochleau- 
reati  has  also  furnished  7  poets  and  4  orators — supply 
ing  both  to  the  class  of  '61. 

The  omission  in  the  above  calculations  is  the  year 
1851,  when  no  poem  and  oration  were  pronounced, — 
the  class,  after  innumerable  ballotings,  being  unable  to 
elect  any  candidates  to  represent  them  on  Presentation 
Day.  There  is  usually  very  little  strife,  however, — most 
of  the  active  electioneering  and  wire  pulling  being  done 
within  a  week  or  two  of  the  election,  and  the  result, 
whatever  it  may  be,  being  accepted  with  good  nature  by 
all.  A  committee  of  half  a  dozen  or  more,  to  have 
charge  of  the  minor  arrangements  of  the  parting  day,  used 
to  be  elected  or  appointed  at  the  same  time  with  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  487 

orator  and  poet,  but  now-a-days  they  are  not  chosen  until 
a  few  weeks  before  the  time  in  question.     There  is  little 
or   no   competition  for  their  places,  though  these   are 
esteemed  rather  honorable  ones,   and  are  filled  by  men 
in  whom  the  class  have  confidence.     No  complete  list 
has  ever  been  made  of  the  orators  and  poets  previous  to 
1833,  though  for  a  dozen  years  or  more  they  and  no 
others  had  regularly  appeared  upon  the   Presentation 
Day  stage.     The  class  poem  of  '26  was  the  first  one  to 
be  printed  ;  but  since  '33  a  pamphlet  containing  poem 
and   oration   (and   until  within  two  or  three  years   the 
parting  ode  also)  has   regularly  been  published.     It  is 
usually  of  the  octavo  form,  though  the  size  of  the  page 
has  varied  somewhat  in  different  years.     Of   late   the 
cover  has  been  of  buff  paper,  like  that  of  the  college 
catalogue,  but  formerly  various  shades  of  red,  blue  and 
green  were  used.     "  Published  by  request  of  the  class" 
used  to  be  the  imprint  on  the  title  page  of  the  pamphlet. 
Now,  the  orater  and  poet  issue  it  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  it  is  first  placed  on  sale,  at  the  College  Bookstore  or 
elsewhere,  just  after  its  contents  have  been  proclaimed 
in  the  Chapel.     Twenty-five  or   thirty-five   cents  is  the 
price  at  which  it  sells,  and  enough  copies  are  usually 
disposed  of  to  pay  the  costs  of  printing  ;  sometimes  to 
leave  a  margin  for  profit,  as  in  '69,  when  the  publishers 
cleared  $35  or  $40  from  the  pamphlet.     The  edition  is 
300  or  400  copies,  all  of  which  are  disposed  of  in  a  few 
years, — none  but  the  later  issues  being  ncfw  obtainable. 
The  story  is  told  of  the  class  orator  of  '36 — Henry  C. 
Deming  of  Hartford — that,  happening  to  enter  Chapel 
on  a  Presentation  Day,  a  few  years  ago,  he  heard  the 
orator  of  the  occasion  pronounce   as   original  a  large 
share  of  the  sentiments  which  he  himself  had  offered  in 
the  same  place  about  thirty  years  before.     Col.  Deming 
would  whisper  to  the  professor  beside   him   the  words 


488  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

which  "  came  next"  in  the  original,  and,  sure  enough,  in 
a  few  minutes  the  orator,  all  unconscious  of  detection, 
would  roll  them  out  again  as  his  own  ideas,  "  now  first 
offered  to  the  public."  As  the  delinquent  was  a  Keys 
man,  it  was  a  favorite  saying  in  Bones  that  "the  class 
had  to  come  to  that  society  for  its  oration,  after  all," — 
the  orator  of  '36  being  a  member  of  it.  It  is  said 
that  the  same  oration  was  skinned  from  once  before  by 
a  class  orator,  or  speaker  at  Junior  Ex,  though  the  fraud 
was  not  exposed  quite  so  squarely.  It  is  not  often, 
however,  that  a  class  goes  so  far  wrong  in  its  choices  as 
to  confer  its  highest  honors  upon  one  who  is  capable  of 
disgracing  it  in  this  way. 

The  afternoon  ceremonies  of  Presentation  Day  are 
held  in  the  open  air.  Having  finished  with  the  faculty's 
"  collation,"  the  Seniors  used  to  stretch  themselves  on 
the  grass  in  front  of  South  Middle,  and  while  away 
their  last  afternoon  together.  In  the  old  times,  it  was 
then  that  the  Bully  Club  was  presented.  Afterwards  it 
became  the  custom  for  the  class  to  bring  out  the  low 
benches  known  to  Commencement  dinners,  arrange  the 
same  in  the  form  of  a  ring,  at  the  usual  place  under  the 
elms,  and  seating  themselves  thereon,  smoke,  every  man 
of  them,  the  pipe  of  peace,  singing  meanwhile  the  songs, 
written  and  printed  for  the  occasion,  joking,  chaffing 
and  disporting  themselves  as  best  they  might,  while  the 
burlesque  "  band,"  composed  of  their  own  number  and 
comprising  every  imaginable  instrument  capable  of 
making  a  noise,  furnished  the  "  music."  After  planting 
the  Ivy,  and  marching  through  and  cheering  the  college 
buildings,  they  attended  evening  chapel,  in  the  charac 
ter  of  "visitors,"  sitting  in  the  gallery  and  looking  down 
on  the  Juniors  in  possession  of  the  seats  which  they 
themselves  had  in  the  morning  occupied  for  the  last 
time.  Perhaps  after  prayers — or  it  may  be  before — they 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  489 

formed  the  ring  again  and  had  another  smoke,  ending 
up  with  a  rush  or  stag  dance  in  which  all  the  pipes  were 
trampled  upon  and  broken,  as  a  sign  that  the  pleasures 
of  college  life  were  ended  ;  and  then  each  took  the 
other  by  the  hand  and  said  Good  bye.  Some  say  that 
the  pipes  of  peace,  thus  smoked  and  smashed,  were 
those  that  had  seen  service  during  the  college  course, 
but  it  is  more  likely  that,  as  now,  they  were  purchased 
especially  for  the  occasion.  Gradually  the  plan  came 
into  vogue  of  inviting  the  former  members  of  the  class 
to  take  part  in  the  rites,  and  those  who  did  were  called 
upon  for  speeches  giving  accounts  of  their  achievements 
in  the  outside  world.  Letters  were  also  read  from  those 
who  failed  to  attend  in  person  ;  and  comic  speeches  in 
praise — real  or  ironical — of  these  and  other  non-gradu 
ates  were  delivered, — "  amid  great  applause,"  of  course. 
In  this  way  was  suggested  the  idea  of  a  written  "  class 
history,"  concerning  the  mishaps  and  adventures  of  those 
who  had  prematurely  graduated, — an  idea  first  put  in 
practice  by  '54,  and  constantly  improved  upon  by  their 
successors,  until  now  the  class  histories  are  the  chief 
feature  of  the  afternoon's  exercises,  and  instead  of  being 
confined  to  an  account  of  the  non-graduates,  they  bring 
in  the  name  of  nearly  every  man  in  the  class, — relating 
every  laughable  incident  or  droll  mishap  that  memory 
has  treasured  up  concerning  him  during  the  four  years' 
course.  Naturally,  the  historian's  position  is  a  very  del 
icate  ^one,  and  the  utmost  tact  is  required  to  avoid  offend 
ing  the  individual  while  making  him  the  subject  of  gen 
eral  merriment.  While  a  historian's  want  of  this  quality 
sometimes  leads  him  to  make  unfortunate  remarks,  it  is 
rarely  that  on  such  a  day,  he  is  wantonly  malicious, 
though  the  power  possessed  by  him  for  paying  off 
grudges  and  taking  revenge  is  almost  unlimited.  There 
is  no  traditional  time  for  the  election  of  historians,  but 


49°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

of  late  they  have  been  chosen  during  sophomore  year, — 
those  who  successfully  filled  the  office  at  the  time  of  the 
Annual  Dinner  being  often  re-elected,  though  each 
division  chooses  its  own  representative.  Hence  there 
are  either  three  or  four  of  them  according  to  the  size  of 
the  class,  each  of  whom  "  has"  the  men  belonging  to 
his  division  at  the  time  of  his  election,  without  regard 
to  subsequent  changes  thereof,  which  may  separate  him 
in  recitation  from  many  of  them.  Thenceforth,  when 
ever  he  hears  of  an  absurd  blunder  in  recitation,  a  comic 
accident,  "  sell,"  or  practical  joke,  of  which  one  of  "'his" 
men  is  the  victim,  he  takes  a  note  thereof  and  lays  it 
away  for  future  reference.  About  a  month  before  Pres 
entation,  the  historians  send  to  the  address  of  every 
former  member  of  the  class  a  printed  circular,  inviting 
them  in  the  name  of  the  class  to  be  present  at  the  exer 
cises,  and  requesting  them  in  their  reply — whether  of 
acceptance  or  declination— to  write  a  short  account  of 
their  doings  since  leaving  college.  With  his  accumu 
lated  "  notes"  and  these  letters  as  materials,  the  his 
torian  then  begins  his  work,  and  in  his  treatment  of 
former  members  his  knowledge  as  to  whether  or  not 
they  are  to  be  his  auditors  serves  him  in  good  stead. 

There  is  only  one  test  of  a  good  class  history,  and 
that  is  its  capacity  for  calling  out  the  hearty,  good-na 
tured  mirth  of  the  Seniors  for  whom  it  is  written.  If 
from  the  beginning  of  the  recital  to  the  end,  they  are 
"  convulsed  with  roars  of  vast  and  inextinguishable 
laughter,"  except  in  the  short  intervals  necessary  for  the 
taking  of  breath  and  the  shouting  of  "  'Rah  !  'rah ! 
'rah  !  " — the  history  is  a  success.  To  an  outsider  the 
wit  may  appear  pointless,  the  humor  vapid,  the  brilliancy 
dull,  but  they  are  not  so.  The  finest  poem,  perfectly 
recited,  seems  meaningless  jargon  to  the  auditor  unac 
quainted  with  the  language  in  which  it  is  spoken  :  and 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  49  * 

until  a  man  has  lived  for  four  years  inclose  relation  to  a 
hundred  others,  so  that  he  knows  every  one  of  their 
little  peculiarities  and  appreciates  every  trifling  out-of- 
the-way  point  in  their  characters,  he  cannot  comprehend 
the  exquisite  zest  with  which  each  Yale  Senior  relishes 
the  rollicking  record  of  fun  which  his  historians  have 
prepared  for  him.  Under-class  men  and  graduates  can 
enjoy  much  that  is  beyond  the  reach  of  others,  and 
some  of  the  jokes  are  of  such  broad  and  general  appli 
cation  that  all  can  appreciate  them  ;  but  in  the  nature 
of  things  the  better  part  of  a  class  history  must  escape 
all  but  the  ctassjbr  whom  it  is  specially  intended.  The 
historians  are  supposed  to  be  the  best  wits,  "fellows  of 
infinite  jest,"  "  funny  men,"  that  the  class  can  produce  ; 
and  the  most  casual  outside  auditor  cannot  fail  to  notice 
when  one  of  them  is  proved  to  be  lacking  the  humorous 
qualifications  which  he  was  expected  to  display.  In  his 
words  he  may  not  seem  to  differ  much  from  the  other?, 
but  the  look  of  inexpressible  disappointment  that  steals 
over  the  faces  of  the  Seniors,  their  dismal  attempts  to  laugh 
and  cheer,  prove  that  he  has  made  a  dreary  failure  of 
his  work.  Each  historian  often  devotes  considerable 
space  in  praising  his  own  division  and  ridiculing  the 
others,  and  perhaps  offers  a  few  general  statistics,  which 
contain  enough  truth  to  laughably  set  off  the  absurdity 
of  their  errors.  The  faculty  are  also  mentioned  with 
great  freedom,  though  never  indecently  or  maliciously, 
and  the  personal  references  to  these  or  other  individuals 
often  take  their  point  from  their  utter  impossibility. 

These  humorous  class  histories  should  not  be  con 
founded  with  the  class  statistics  which  it  is  the  custom 
to  publish  at  about  the  same  time.  The  practice  was 
introduced  by  '58,  and  the  statistics  of  that  and  every 
succeeding  class — except  '60,  '67  and  '70 — have  been 
published  in  the  Lit.  The  Courant  has  also  published 


49 2  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  statistics  each  year,  beginning  with  those  of  '66,  and 
its  report  of  '69  was  the  most  complete  that  had  ever 
been  prepared.  The  editors  then  for  the  first  time 
issued  printed  blanks,  enquiring  of  each  Senior,  his  age  ? 
weight  ?  hight  ?  proposed  profession  ?  matrimonial  pros 
pects  ?  habits  (of  smoking,  chewing,  billiard-playing, 
Sunday-school  teaching,  etc.)?  politics?  musical  abili 
ties  ?  and  all  the  other  similar  questions  which  had  been 
asked  orally,  and  hence  less  systematically  and  com 
pletely,  in  previous  years.  Besides  these  things,  the 
editors  or  compilers  learn  for  themselves  the  facts  in 
regard  to  the  residences,  societies,  prizes,  honors  and 
scholarships,  base-ball  and  boating  achievements,  nick 
names,  color  of  hair,  and  other  "capillary  statistics," 
color  of  eyes,  wearers  of  eye-glasses,  number  of  men 
arrested  by  the  police  or  suspended  by  the  faculty,  any 
and  every  trifling  or  important  circumstance  connected 
with  or  characteristic  of  the  class.  All  these  materials 
are  then  grouped  together  and  "  worked  up  "  as  attrac 
tively  as  possible  into  an  article  which  is  highly  prized 
by  the  parties  concerned,  and  interesting  to  all  the 
undergraduates.  Some  portions,  indeed,  seem  to  be 
relished  by  the  general  public,  as  they  are  widely  quoted 
in  the  newspapers.  Last  year,  two  of  the  '70  Coiirant 
editors  published  the  statistics  of  their  class  in  a  24- 
page  octavo  pamphlet,  which  had  quite  an  extensive 
sale  throughout  college  ;  but  their  example  is  not  likely 
to  be  followed  this  year. 

But  the  afternoon  exercises  of  Presentation  Day, 
though  not  fully  understood,  are  sufficiently  enjoyed  by 
outside  spectators  to  attract  very  many  of  them  to  the 
scene,  and  accommodations  for  their  comfort  accordingly 
have  to  be  provided, — especially  for  the  ladies.  At  first, 
the  front  windows  of  South  Middle  and  the  Lyceum 
were  ample  enough  to  furnish  nearly  all  of  the  latter 


THE    STUDENT  LIFE.  493 

with  eligible  positions  for  seeing,  if  not  hearing,  "  all 
the  fun  "  ;  then  chairs,  and  tables  and  other  improvised 
seats  were  arranged  for  them,  under  the  trees  ;  but  the 
crowd  each  year  increased,  and  more  and  more  were 
obliged  to  stand  "  out  of  all  sight  and  hearing,"  until 
1867,  when  the  committee  first  erected  raised  seats,  like 
those  in  a  circus,  for  the  benefit  of  the  lady  spectators 
and  their  attendants.  The  seats  were  made  for  perma 
nent  use,  and  the  lower  classes  helped  pay  for  them. 
During  the  year  they  are  stored  away  in  one  of  the 
college  cellars.  Upon  the  green  they  are  arranged  in 
the  form  of  a  triangle,  within  which  is  the  ring  of  benches 
upon  which  the  Seniors  sit,  and  in  the  center  of  the  ring 
is  the  table  upon  which  the  historian  stands  as  he  reads 
his  history.  The  space  between  the  benches  and  the 
seats  is  packed  with  undergraduates  and  the  general 
crowd,  who  are  constantly  exhorted  to  "  lie  down  on  the 
grass,"  and  are  constantly  tending  to  disobey  the  order 
by  standing  upright,  which  proceeding  obstructs  the  view 
of  the  ladies  upon  the  raised  seats,  and  prevents  their 
hearing  to  advantage.  The  problem,  How  to  make  the 
triangle  large  enough  to  allow  the  general  crowd  seats 
upon  the  turf  within  it,  without  putting  the  favored 
possessors  of  seats  out  of  the  reach  of  the  historian's 
voice  ?  has  not  yet  been  solved.  If  the  triangle  is  made 
small,  the  undergraduates  who  are  crowded  out  think 
themselves  ill-used  ;  if  it  is  made  large,  the  ladies  feel 
aggrieved  because  from  their  seats  they  are  unable  to 
catch  the  words  of  those  delightfully  incomprehensible 
jokes.  The  college  windows  overlooking  the  scene  are 
still  held  by  them  as  before,  and  their  bright  eyes  and 
merry  faces,  peering  out  of  the  grim  old  barracks,  give 
the  latter  an  unwonted  air  of  liveliness,  possessed  no 
other  day  in  all  the  year.  By  two  o'clock  the  seats 
begin  to  fill  up,  and  the  class  committee — who  acted  as 


494  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ushers  at  the  chapel  in  the  forenoon — are  on  hand  to 
see  that  the  visitors  are  fairly  distributed,  and  that  the 
best  places  are  secured  by  "  friends  of  the  graduating 
class." 

It  is  about  half-past  two  when  the  music  strikes  up — 
a  regular  band  from  the  city  having  long  ago  superseded 
the  class  musicians — and  the  Seniors  take  their  places 
in  the  ring.  Long  clay  pipes,  with  tobacco  to  smoke 
therein,  are  distributed  among  them,  and  a  large  tub  of 
lemonade,  with  pitchers  and  goblets,  is  placed  within 
the  ring,  —  the  programmes  being  meanwhile  tossed 
about.  These  contain,  in  addition  to  the  names  of  the 
historians  and  the  committee,  the  songs  written  or 
selected  for  the  occasion,  and  the  "  Ivy  song,"  which 
is  always  original,  and  is  usually  prepared  by 'the  class 
poet.  These  programmes  were  first  supplied  in  '59, 
though  for  the  nine  preceding  years  printed  sheets  of 
the  songs  were  freely  distributed.  As  the  histories 
have  risen  in  importance  the  practice  of  singing  has 
gradually  died  out.  In  '69,  for  the  first  time,  the  pro 
gramme  contained  none  but  reprinted  songs  ;  yet  during 
the  four  years  that  class  was  in  college  there  was  very 
little  singing  on  Presentation  afternoons,  and  that  little 
was  quite  independent  of  the  specially  prepared  songs. 
Though  there  is,  to  be  sure,  less  time  left  for  the  pur 
pose  than  formerly,  yet  it  is  doubtless  the  feeling  of  sad 
ness,  which  underlies  all  the  outward  jollity  of  the  day, 
that  prevents  the  Senior  from  singing,  or,  when  he 
makes  the  attempt,  from  singing  with  his  wonted  fervor 
and  heartiness.  The  smoking,  too,  is  not  so  general  or 
so  continuous  as  it  used  to  be.  Almost  every  one  takes 
a  few  whiffs,  but  very  many  do  no  more  than  that.  The 
pipes  are  not  broken,  but  are  carefully  preserved  for 
memorabil. 

The  preliminary  arrangements   being  all  completed, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  495 

the  din  and  tumult  arising  therefrom  is  hushed,  the 
band  cease  playing,  and  in  response  to  loud  cries  of 
"  History  !  history  ! "  "  Shake  it  up,  there  !  "  "  Trot  out 
your  jokes,  Bill !  "  the  representative  comic  man  of  the 
first  division  mounts  the  table  and  begins  his  story. 
Perhaps  he  treats  first  of  the  missing  members,  and  as 
he  concludes  his  remarks  concerning  each  one  who 
happens  to  be  present,  that  man's  name  is  shouted  by  a 
hundred  voices,  until  he  mounts  the  table  and  makes  a 
"  speech,"  which  is  greeted  with  "  three  times  three  " 
rousing  cheers,  and  the  historian  proceeds.  After  the 
mention  of  each  absent  man's  name  who  was  well  liked 
by  the  class,  the  speaker  "leads  off"  in  three,  or  three 
times  three,  cheers  for  him,  according  to  his  opinion  of 
his  popularity,  and  this  is  testified  to  by  the  greater  or 
less  enthusiasm  with  which  the  class  "respond," — all 
rising  to  their  feet  in  honor  of  a  specially  well-liked 
man,  and  cheering  less  lustily  and  from  their  seats  for 
one  whom  they  remember  less  affectionately.  When  the 
historian  reaches  the  Seniors,  there  present  around  him, 
he  occasionally  calls  upon  some  witty  or  popular  man 
to  answer  for  himself,  and  the  class  second  the  response 
by  yells  of  "  Speech  !  speech  !  "  until  the  object  of  their 
attention  obeys  them  and  says  his  say  from  the  table, — 
which  "  say "  is  always  greeted  with  tumultuous  ap 
plause.  Besides  this,  if  the  history  be  a  good  one,  its 
reading  is  constantly  interrupted  by  the  laughter,  shouts 
of  approbation,  and  impromptu  cheers  of  the  auditors, 
who  often  "  call  out "  men,  independently  of  those 
recommended  by  the  reader,  and  extort  speeches  of 
acknowledgment  from  them.  At  the  close  of  the  first 
history,  the  historian  and  his  division  are  in  turn  given 
"  three  times  three,"  with  an  enthusiasm  dependent  upon 
the  acceptableness  of  his  work,  and  the  band  plays  while 
the  multitude  change  positions  a  little.  Then,  too,  the 


496  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

songs  are  sung,  if  at'all.  In  the  same  manner,  the  his 
tories  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth — if  there  is  any 
fourth — divisions  are  presented — save  that  toward  the 
end,  fewer  speeches  are  called  for,  fewer  and  fainter 
cheers  are  given,  and  the  shouts  of  laughter  are  less 
hearty  and  prolonged.  The  place  of  the  last  historian 
is  by  far  the  hardest  to  fill, — as  his  sayings  must  be 
doubly  attractive  if  they  would  be  as  acceptable  as  those 
of  the  first  speaker  who  addressed  the  audience  while 
they  were  fresh  and  eager  for  his  words. 

The  histories  over,  the  class  form,  two  by  two,  the 
orator  and  poet  at  the  head,  and  the  committee  acting 
as  marshals,  and,  preceded  by  the  band,  inarch  to  the 
selected  nook  of  Library  building,  where  the  Ivy  is  to 
be  planted.  The  year  of  the  class  has  here  been  cut 
into  the  stone,  a  day  or  two  before,  and  the  earth  pre 
pared  for  the  reception  of  the  plant.  The  poet  silently 
places  it  in  the  appointed  spot,  while  the  class  join  in 
singing  the  sad  Ivy  song, — a  large  body  of  spectators 
attending, — and  then  the  procession,  in  the  same  order 
as  before,  marches  back  through  the  south  entry  of  South 
College,  and  forms  a  semi-circle  in  front  of  it.  Three 
times  three  cheers  are  here  given  for  each  one  of  the 
lower  classes,  which  they  in  turn  respond  to, — either 
then  or  shortly  afterwards  when  a  crowd  can  be  got 
together,  as  the  compliment  often  takes  them  unawares, 
—and  then  "  Old  South  College  "  is  also  saluted,  after 
which  its  north  entry  is  marched  through,  and  the  line 
bent  in  front  of  the  Athenaeum.  This  is  then  cheered, 
and  so  on  for  every  building  in  the  row,  down  to  North 
College, — both  entries  of  each  dormitory  being  marched 
through.  Divinity  College  and  the  other  buildings  are 
not  saluted,  but  after  cheering  adieu  to  old  North,  the 
procession,  still  preceded  by  the  band,  files  down  Elm 
street  to  Church,  and  halts  in  front  of  the  house  of  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  497 

president,  who  is  vociferously  cheered,  as  are  also  the 
few  words  of  acknowledgment  and  farewell  which  he 
offers  in  return.  Then  the  march  is  resumed  up  to 
Hillhouse  Avenue  and  elsewhere,  where  there  are  more 
cheers  and  responses  before  the  professors'  houses,  and 
so  back  to  the  colleges,  where  the  rooms  of  the  younger 
professors,  in  the  absence  of  their  occupants,  are  saluted. 
Then  the  band  is  dismissed ;  and,  in  the  gathering  twi 
light,  in  front  of  or  within  Alumni  Hall,  where  they  met 
for  the  most  part  strangers,  four  years  before,  this  class 
of  a  hundred  men  sadly  form  a  parting  ring,  and  grasp 
ing  each  other  by  the  hand,  with  choking  throat  and 
tearful  eye,  speak  the  word,  Farewell.  It  is  an  affecting 
occasion,  even  for  the  least  sympathetic ;  and  many  a 
manly  fellow,  who  never  displayed  emotion  before,  now 
sobs  away  his  sorrow  like  a  little  child.  It  is  the  last 
scene  of  the  active  student  life,  the  last  time  that  the  class 
meets  with  unbroken  ranks.  Individual  classmates 
may  all  at  various  times  be  met  with  again,  though  this 
happens  but  rarely,  but  that  intangible  thing  called  "  the 
class  "  of  which  each  is  a  part,  dies  with  Presentation 
Day. 

It  was  by  '52  that  the  idea  of  planting  the  Ivy  was 
first  put  in  practice,  but  '58  was  the  first  class  to  have 
its  number  cut  upon  the  stone.  Its  vine  was  placed  at 
the  foot  of  the  left  hand  turret,  beside  the  main  entrance 
to  the  Library,  and,  except  that  of '59,  at  the  opposite  side 
of  the  same  entrance,  all  the  original  eight  have  long 
been  dead, — the  rank  Virginia  creeper  flourishing  in  their 
places.  For  the  next  six  years — '60  to  '65 — the  Ivies 
were  placed  in  succession  between  the  buttresses  on  the 
north  (Brothers)  side  of  the  building,  and  have  all,  save 
the  last,  flourished  finely.  The  Ivy  of  '66  is  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Brothers  entrance ;  that  of  '67  is  in 
the  north  east  corner,  corresponding  to  '65 's  in  the 


498  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

north  west,  that  of  '68  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  main 
Library,  at  the  left  hand  as  one  approaches  the  usual 
entrance,  that  of  '69  is  in  an  exactly  similar  position  in 
the  rear  of  the  building,  that  of  'yo's  is  at  the  left  hand 
of  the  usual  side-entrance  to  the  library,  and  that  of 
'71  is  on  the  High  street  side  of  Brothers,  corresponding 
to  that  of  '66  on  the  front  side.  The  place  of  planting 
the  Ivy  is  decided  upon  by  the  committee,  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  college  librarian.  The  northern 
wall  is  sought  for,  since  the  vine  cannot  bear  the  sun  in 
winter  time, — a  fact  which  the  earlier  classes  did  not 
seem  to  be  aware  of  or  pay  regard  to ;  though  perhaps 
the  original  plan  of  setting  out  the  plant  in  the  ordinary 
soil  surrounding  the  building,  and  of  having  each  mem 
ber  of  the  class  throw  a  handful  thereof  upon  its  roots, 
may  alone  explain  the  want  of  longevity  in  those  earlier 
Ivies.  Now-a-days  the  gardener  who  prepares  the  ground 
in  advance,  beds  down  the  Ivy  after  its  ceremonious 
planting,  and  occasionally  cares  for  it  when  attention  is 
needed,  in  after  years.  Since  the  custom  was  begun, 
the  same  gardener  has  always  been  employed  for  the 
work,  and  also  the  same  stone-cutter  for  chiseling  out  the 
date.  Occasionally  a  historic  Ivy,  brought  by  a  friend 
from  some  old  European  castle  or  cathedral  or  famous 
spot,  has  been  honored  with  the  duty  of  immortalizing 
the  class,  but  usually  a  common,  low-born  vine,  supplied 
by  the  gardener,  has  been  thought  sufficient  to  "  keep 
its  memory  green." 

Formerly, — immediately  after  planting  the  Ivy, — the 
ceremony  of  bidding  one  another  farewell  was  gone 
through  with,  in  front  of  South  College,  in  the  presence 
of  an  unsympathetic  crowd  of  spectators — the  female 
portion  of  which  rather  enjoyed  the  spectacle  of  seeing 
the  young  men  cry,  and  thought  it  rather  "funny  "  than 
otherwise.  In  '68,  the  leave-taking  was  held  more  pri- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  499 

vately,  in  front  of  Alumni  Hall  ;  in  '69,  after  the  attempt 
had  been  made  to  dispense  with  the  ceremony  altogether, 
it  was  agreed  by  way  of  compromise  that  it  should  take 
place  with  entire  privacy  inside  the  hall   itself;  and  in 
'70,  though  the  class  voted  otherwise,  it  was  omitted 
entirely.     As    has   been    already    implied,    the    former 
members    of  the    class — whether   belonging    to    lower 
classes  in  the  college,  or  coming  from  abroad  especially 
for  the  occasion — share  equally  in  all  the  doings  of  the 
day,  from  first  to  last,  with  those  who  graduate.     Some 
times  the  band  which  supplied  the  music  for  the  Wooden 
Spoon  Exhibition  the  night  before  has  been  employed 
for  the  day,  though  a  less  expensive  one  from  the  city  is 
usually  secured.     The  entire  costs  of  the  arrangements 
are  between  $300  and  $400,  and  this  amount  is  raised 
by  an  equal  tax  previously  levied  upon  the  class.     It  is 
noticeable  that  the  class  poet  is  often  one  of  the  histo 
rians  also.     This  was  true  in  '63,  '65,  '68,  '69  and  '70,. 
and  in  several   preceding  instances  ;  while  in  '68  both 
the  orator  and  poet  of  the  morning  were  the  representa 
tive  "  funny  men  "  of  the  afternoon.     In  the  rare  cases 
where  the  weather  has  made  it  impossible  to  hold  the 
afternoon  exercises  in  the  open  air,  Alumni  Hall  has 
been  resorted  to ;  but  '69,  whose  ceremonies  were  inter 
rupted  by  the  rain,  were  by  special   indulgence  of  the 
faculty,  allowed  the  freedom  of  the  Chapel,  wherein  to 
finish  them.     The  historian's  table  was  placed  in  the 
center  of  the  middle  aisle,  and  the  class  occupied  their 
usual  seats  around  it,  while  the  rest  of  the  building — 
galleries,  professors'  pews  and  pulpits — was  crowded  to 
its  utmost   by  the  interested  spectators;     Exactly  such 
a  crowd,  and  such  an   exhibition,  and  such  shouts  and 
cheers  and  laughter,  within  the  walls  of  that  grave  and 
reverend  edifice  were  probably  never  known  of  before 
in  all  the  days  of  its  history. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TOWN    AND    GOWN. 

BULLYI.SM—  Capture  of  the  Bully  Club'— Election  of  Bullies— 
Their  Duties  and  Privileges— The  Fight  of  Bully  against  Presi 
dent—Its  Culmination  in  1840  — Abolishment  of  Bullyism— 
Preservation  of  the  Club  — TOWN  AND  GOWN — The  Fireman's 
Riot  of  1841  —  The  "  City  Guard"  and  the  "  Banner"— The  Riot 
of  1854— Preliminary  Hostilities  —  The  Attack— Death  of  the 
Rioter's  Ringleader  —  Frenzy  of  the  Mob— South  College  to 
be  Bombarded— The  Seige  Abandoned  —  Preparations  for  De 
fence—Coroner's  Investigation —The  Popular  Verdict— The 
High  Street  Fracas  of  1858— Who  Fired  the  Fatal  Shot  ?— 
The  Stafford  Homicide  of  1860— The  Stabbing  of  a  College 
Officer  in  1843— The  Students  and  the  Peelers— Causes  of  their 
Enmity— The  Knock-down  of  1870  —The  City  Tradesmen  and 
their  College  Customers— The  Old  Sumptuary  Laws  —  Present 
Habits  in  Dress  —  Disregard  of  Family  or  Local  Pretentions— 
Politics  and  the  Suffrage— The  Student  in  Society  —  College 
Widows— Society  and  the  Mission  Schools— Prayer  Meetings 
— The  Missionary  and  other  Religious  Societies— The  Temper 
ance  Society— Drinking  and  Licentiousness  —  Swearing,  Smok 
ing,  Chewing,  Billiard  Playing  and  Gambling— Cards,  Chess, 
and  Velocipedes  —  Sailing  Excursions— Camping  out  on  the 
Thimbles  —  Walking,  Foot-Racing,  Skating  and  Driving  — 
Obituary  Customs  — Post-Graduate  Class  Meetings— The  Class 
Records— Exercises  of  a  Class  Reunion— Origin  of  the  Class 
Cup— The  First  Cup  Presentation  of  '44 — Changes  in  the  Cus 
tom — Recent  Abandonment  of  the  Ceremony. 

Several  minor  matters,  of  a  very  general  nature,  in 
regard  to  student  life,  which  could  not  well  be  brought 
in  elsewhere,  will  be  treated  of  in  the  present  chapter, 
in  addition  to  its  special  subject,— the  relations  between 
the  townspeople  and  the  students.  These  were  less 
harmonious  than  at  present  in  the  old  times,  when  ill- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  o  I 

feeling  between  college  men  and  the  lower  orders  of 
"  townies  "  seems  to  have  been  traditional.  It  was 
from  this  feud  that  the  custom  of  "  Bullyism  "  arose. 
Tradition  has  it  that  sometime  in  the  last  century,  the 
earlier  the  better,  a  party  of  students  went  to  an  inn  at 
Fair  Haven — a  locality  then  known  as  "  Dragon  " — to 
regale  themselves  with  an  oyster  supper,  or  something 
of  the  sort,  "  and  there  fell  into  an  affray  with  the  young 
men  of  the  place,  a  hardy  if  not  a  hard  set,  who  regarded 
their  presence  in  their  own  favorite  resort  as  an  intru 
sion,"  and  made  out  to  expel  them  therefrom.  Next 
night  the  college  men  came  back  to  the  house  with 
large  re-enforcements,  and  engaged  in  a  pitched  battle 
with  the  oystermen  and  sailors  assembled  to  meet  them. 
In  the  struggle,  "  a  great  bully  of  a  fellow,  who  appeared 
to  be  the  leader  of  the  Dragoners,  wielded  a  huge  club, 
formed  from  an  oak  limb,  with  a  gnarled  excresence  on 
the  end  ; "  which  club  the  college  men  managed  to  wrest 
from  his  grasp,  and  bear  off  as  a  trophy,  to  be  called 
the  "  Bully  Club  "  for  ever  after. 

To  protect  themselves  against  the  drunken  rowdies 
who  were  wont  to  insult  and  attack  them,  each  class 
organized  a  sort  of  "  defence  committee,"  and  chose  as 
leader  their  largest  and  most  muscular  man,  to  whom 
they  gave  the  name  of  "Bully."  The  Bully  was  not 
only  the  "champion  fighter  "  of  the  class,  but  also  pre 
sided  over  all  class  meetings  of  every  sort,  and  fulfilled 
all  the  duties  of  chairman  or  president.  Afterwards, 
the  practice  arose  of  electing  the  smallest  man  of  the 
class  to  the  office  of  "  Minor  Bully,"  whose  duty  it  was 
to  serve — like  a  vice  president — in  the  "  Major  Bully's  " 
absence.  But  as  the  collisions  with  the  townies  grew 
less  frequent,  the  original  qualifications  for  Bully  were 
less  closely  regarded,  and  the  bullyships  came  to  be 
looked  upon  in  the  light  of  honors,  belonging  by  right 


502  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

to  the  "  most  popular  men"  of  the  class,  much  as  the 
cochships  were  afterwards  regarded.     It  seems  proba 
ble,  however,  that,  other  things  being  equal,   a  large- 
sized  man  and  a  little  one  were  always  preferred  for  the 
two  offices.     To  each  of  their  Bullies  the  class  gave  a 
gold-headed,  highly-ornamented  cane  or  banger,  and  the 
ceremonies  attendant  upon  the  reception  of  the  same 
occurred  upon  the  afternoon  of  Presentation  Day.    The 
Major  Bully  of  the  Seniors  was  the  College  Bully,  and 
had  in  keeping  the  Bully  Club,  besides  the  class  banger 
which  he  took  away  with  him  when  he  graduated.     He 
was  looked  upon  as  the  college  leader  in  all  encounters 
with  the  townies,  called  and  presided  over  all  the  gen 
eral  meetings  of  the  students,  acted  as  chief  marshal 
in  their  processions,  and  so  on.     Upon  the  afternoon  of 
Presentation  Day  he  transferred  the  College  Bully  Club 
to  his  successor,  the  Bully  of  the  junior  class,  with  cer 
tain  traditional  formalities, — including  speeches  of  pre 
sentation  and  acceptance,  which  were  expected  to  be  as 
humorous  as  possible,  a  long  procession,  and  other  ob 
servances.     The  presentation  of  the  class  clubs  to  the 
freshman  Bullies,  who  would  that  night  for  the  first  time 
occupy  the  sophomore   scats  in  chapel,  was  naturally 
combined  with  the  more  important  ceremony.     Appar 
ently  no  second  elections  were  held  ;  so  that  the  Major 
Bully,  chosen  at  the  end  of  freshman  year,  seems— un 
less  he  resigned  or  left  college— to  have  been  the  head 
man  of  his  class  for  the  rest  of  his  course,  and  the  head 
man  of  all   college   during  his    senior  year,   when  the 
original  Bully  Club  was  placed  in  his  charge,  as  an  em 
blem  of  his  high  position.     Some  accounts  would  imply 
that  the  freshman   bullyships  were   filled  at  an   earlier 
date  than  Presentation  Day. 

But  in  process  of  time,  when  the  original  duties   of 
Bully  had  long  been  forgotten,  there  arose  a  sentiment 


THE  S  TUDENT  L IFE.  503 

of  hostility  to  the  name,  as  having  a  barbarous  sound 
offensive  to  ears  polite,  and  as  the  Bully  was  simply  the 
class  president,  it  was  insisted  that  he  should  be  called 
by  that  or  some  similar  title,  like  moderator,  marshal  or 
leader.  Beginning  with  '38,  a  terrible  war  arose  in 
regard  to  the  matter, — the  "reform  party"  of  each  class 
electing  a  "president"  by  a  slight  majority,  while  the 
minority  chose  a  Bully  as  before,  and  presented  him 
with  the  usual  club.  Each  officer  professed  to  be  the 
only  true  leader  of  the  class,  and  many  were  the  con 
flicts  of  authority  which  arose  between  these  two  Rich- 
monds  in  the  field  and  their  fierce  partisans.  Things 
grew  worse  and  worse  until  they  came  to  a  crisis  on  the 
Commencement  morning  of  1840,  when  the  adherents 
of  the  Bully  and  the  "  moderator"  finished  their  wrangle 
as  to  which  should  act  as  marshal  of  the  procession,  by 
engaging  in  a  free  fight  upon  "  the  merits  of  the  ques 
tion."  The  usual  procession  was  broken  up,  the  parti 
sans  in  their  hot  fray  heeding  not  the  orders  of  the 
faculty,  the  threats  of  the  constables,  or  even  the  rebuke 
of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State.  The  alumni 
were  left  to  find  their  seats  in  church  as  they  best  could, 
the  aged  and  beloved  president  following  in  sorrow, 
unescorted,  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  day."  Shortly 
afterwards  the  faculty  passed  a  decree  that  there  should 
be  no  class  officers  or  organization  of  any  name. 
Accordingly  Bullyism  died  out,  and  to  this  day  each 
class  meeting  is  called  "  by  general  consent"  alone,  and 
presided  over  by  a  chairman  chosen  for  that  one  occa 
sion  only.  There  has  been  no  list  kept  of  the  College 
Bullies  but  the  last  of  them  was  Hezekiah  Sturges  of 
'41,  who,  being  a  Bones  man,  left  the  Bully  Club  in  the 
hall  of  that  society,  where  it  is  treasured  as  a  most 
interesting  relic. 

At  about  the  same  time  with  the  abolition  of  Bullyism 


504  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  first  fireman's  riot  took  place.  On  Saturday,  Octo 
ber  30,  1841,  was  held  the  annual  parade  of  the  city 
fire-department, — the  various  engine  companies,  in  uni 
form,  finally  assembling  upon  the  green  to  try  their  skill 
in  throwing  water  upon  the  spire  of  Center  Church,  and 
a  large  crowd  of  spectators  being  in  attendance.  The 
engine  hose  lay  across  the  usual  play-ground  of  the 
students,  and  as  they  were  engaged  at  foot-ball  it  was 
occasionally  trodden  upon  by  them,  whereupon  they 
were  somewhat  peremptorily,  and  as  they  thought 
insolently,  ordered  to  desist,  and,  as  they  were  rather 
slow  about  obeying,  the  ball  was  seized  by  the  firemen. 
A  rush  being  made  to  regain  it,  three  students  were 
arrested  for  a  breach  of  the  peace,  and  haled  before  a 
justice  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  where  bail  was 
given,  and  the  trial  adjourned, — the  whole  body  of  fire 
men,  500  or  more,  acting  as  self-constituted  constables 
to  escort  the  three  students  before  the  justice,  and 
bandying  complimentary  epithets  with  the  crowds  of 
college  men  who  followed  along  beside  them.  Later  in 
the  day,  when  the  firemen  had  assembled  in  their  sup 
per-hall,  stones  were  hurled  against  the  door  of  the 
same, — either  by  students  or,  more  likely,  by  town  boys 
who  wished  to  encourage  hostilities, — and  squads  of 
firemen  sallying  forth  vented  their  rage  upon  the  few 
solitary  collegians  whom  they  chanced  upon.  The  out 
rage  being  reported  to  headquarters,  the  excitement 
flamed  up  to  fever  heat,  and  at  midnight  a  large  crowd 
of  students  assembled,  stormed  the  nearest  engine  house 
and  drove  off  the  watchmen  with  a  shower  of  brickbats, 
then  overturned  and  smashed  the  engine,  cut  up  the 
hose,  and  scattered  the  fragments  in  the  college  yard. 
Meanwhile  the  watchmen  had  raised  the  alarm  of  fire, 
bringing  an  immense  throng  of  excited  and  hostile  men 
upon  the  spot ;  but,  by  the  exertions  of  the  city  author- 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  505 

ities  on  the  one  side  and  the  faculty  on  the  other,  what 
threatened  to  be  a  serious  riot  was  averted,  and  by  day 
light  of  Sunday  morning  the  crowds  were  made  to  dis 
perse. 

A  fruitless  investigation  before  a  grand  jury  was 
thrown  up  unfinished  at  the  end  of  nine  clays,  but  the 
excitement  over  the  matter  lasted  much  longer  than  that, 
and  "  the  riot"  was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  town  talk 
for  a  month  or  more.  In  opposition  to  the  Yale  Banner, 
which  served  as  the  student's  mouth-piece,  the  firemen 
or  their  friends  put  forth  a  diminutive  4-page  sheet  called 
the  City  Guard  and  Moral  Scavenger,  which  made  three 
appearances, — Nov.  13,  20,  and  Dec.  3.  The  heading 
bore  a  representation  of  the  <f  blind  goddess,"  with  the 
motto,  "  Justice  to  all  "  ;  and  the  price  was  four  cents 
per  copy.  While  the  Banner  devoted  itself  chiefly  to 
censuring  the  unfairness,  illegality  and  needless  brutality 
shown  in  making  the  original  arrests,  the  Guard  paid 
special  attention  to  the  assault  on  the  engine  house ; 
though  both  devoted  much  space  to  the  interchange  of 
personal  compliments,  and  the  calling  of  names,  one 
being  termed  "  the  city  blackguard  and  immoral  scaven 
ger"  and  the  other  "  the  banny."  The  three  students 
who  were  arrested,  after  having  their  trial  postponed 
two  or  three  times — seemingly  that  the  engine  investi 
gation  might  prejudice  their  cases — were  made  to  pay 
fines  and  costs, — though  apparently  they  should  have 
been  paid  damages,  instead,  for  the  assaults  committed 
upon  them  by  the  firemen. 

It  was  a  dozen  years  later  that  the  next  town-and- 
gown  outbreak  happened, — on  the  night  of  Friday, 
March  17,  1854.  The  evening  previous,  a  half  dozen 
students  had  attended  a  theatrical  performance  at 
Roman's  Athenaeum,  in  Exchange  Building,  corner  of 
Church  and  Chapel  streets,  and  one  or  two  of  them,  on 

23 


5°6  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

rising  to  adjust  their  shawls,  had  been  greeted  with  cries 
of  "Down  in  front!"  from  the  "gods  in  the  gallery." 
To  this  some  such  response  as  "  When  we  get  ready  !  " 
was  made,  and  replied  to  by  growls  of  "  Hustle  out  the 
monkeys !  "  groans,  and  so  on.  At  the  close  of  the 
performance,  the  students,  on  reaching  the  street,  were 
pitched  upon  by  a  large  crowd  of  townies,  and  knocked 
down,  though  not  until  they  had  made  a  good  resistance 
and  drawn  friends  to  their  rescue  by  their  yells  of 
"  Yale  !  "  "  Yale  !  "  The  police  soon  restored  order,  by 
the  arrest  of  the  rabble's  ring-leader  and  one  or  two 
students,  all  of  whom  were  discharged,  an  hour  or  two 
afterwards,  on  their  promise  to  keep  the  peace. 

On  Friday  night  40  or  50  students  attended  the 
theater,  and  sat  together  in  a  body,  while  ten  times 
that  number  of  townies  gathered  outside  the  building, 
and  by  raising  an  alarm  of  fire  just  as  the  performance 
was  about  to  close,  increased  their  number  to  1200  or 
1500.  Meantime,  with  shrieks,  yells  and  outcries  they 
dared  the  students  to  come  out.  A  paper  was  passed 
around  among  the  latter,  requesting  them  to  remain 
after  the  close  of  the  show  until  the  rest  of  the  audience 
had  withdrawn.  Then,  at  the  direction  of  the  captain 
of  police,  they  formed,  two  by  two,  and  silently  marched 
out  and  crossed  to  the  sidewalk  on  the  south  side  of 
Chapel  street,  the  rabble  following  close  upon  them  with 
shrieks,  hootings,  and  imprecations.  The  students  kept 
on  their  march  toward  the  colleges,  until  opposite 
Trinity  Church,  when,  upon  their  beginning  to  sing 
"Gaudeamus,"  the  mob  which  filled  up  the  street 
brought  them  to  a  halt  with  a  shower  of  stones,  clubs 
and  brickbats,  by  which  several  of  their  number  were 
knocked  down  and  badly  injured.  Picking  up  the 
wounded  they  again  moved  on,  only  to  be  stopped  by  a 
second  volley,  by  which  several  more  were  disabled. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  507 

The  ranks  were  then  closed  up,  and  the  march  once 
more  began.  Just  then  the  leaders  of  the  rabble,  who 
had  all  along  kept  in  the  street,  made  a  rush  for  the 
sidewalk,  when  four  or  five  pistols  were  fired  by  the 
students, — some  at  their  assailants  and  some  into  the 
air  simply.  In  a  minute  or  two  the  cry  went  up  that  a 
man  had  been  shot,  and  one  of  the  rioters  was  seen  to 
fall  upon  his  face  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  He  died 
in  a  few  minutes,  having  been  stabbed  to  the  heart  by 
a  large  dirk-knife,  but  no  pistol  wound  was  found  upon 
him.  It  was  afterwards  discovered  that  the  pistol  shots 
had  slightly  injured  two  or  three  other  persons  in  the 
crowd. 

It  was  in  front  of  Fitch's  bookstore  that  the  man  was 
killed,  and  the  students  who  from  the  first  had  kept  to 
the  sidewalk  soon  after  reached  the  college  yard,  and 
with  three  times  three  cheers  for  Yale,  disbanded  and 
retired  to  their  rooms.  When  the  mob  who  followed 
closely  at  their  heels  learned  that  one  of  their  number 
had  been  killed,  they  became  wild  with  rage,  swore  they 
would  tear  down  the  colleges  and  have  blood  for  blood  ; 
and  while  some  broke  into  the  churches  and  rang  an 
alarm  of  fire,  others  seized  upon  the  two  guns  of  the 
artillery  company,  which  were  stored  in  a  barn,  loaded 
them  to  the  muzzle  with  powder,  chains,  broken  stones 
and  brickbats,  and  dragged  them  up  to  the  college  yard. 
Both  were  aimed  at  South  College,  one  from  Chapel 
street  on  the  south,  the  other  from  College  street  on  the 
east.  The  mob  with  the  cannons  had  been  met  at  the 
Church  street  corner  by  the  police  captain  and  justice  of 
the  peace,  who,  mounting  upon  the  pieces,  had  in  vain 
warned  them  to  desist.  On  the  way  up,  however,  un 
known  to  the  rioters,  the  police  managed  to  spike  the 
guns,  and  at  about  the  same  time  the  ringing  of  the  bells 
was  stopped.  It  was  half-past  one  in  the  morning  when 


5°8  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the  entire  crowd  had  assembled,  unlimbered  the  can 
nons  and  leveled  them  at  South  College.  On  discover 
ing  that  the  guns  were  spiked,  they  were  partly  deserted, 
and  the  doors  and  windows  of  South  were  smashed  in 
with  stones  and  bricks,  amid  yells  of  "  Bring  out  the 
murderer !"  and  so  on.  At  this  juncture  arrived  the 
mayor,  who,  mounting  one  of  the  guns,  made  procla 
mation  to  the  rioters,  warning  them  to  desist,  and 
promising  that  the  offenders  should  be  brought  to  jus 
tice.  By  half-past  two  the  crowd  had  mostly  dispersed, 
though  some  even  then  were  trying  to  draw  the  spikes 
from  the  cannons,  and  were  hooting  and  swearing 
about  the  building:  and  by  three  the  police  were  able 
to  take  possession  of  the  guns  and  drag  them  off  to  the 
jail  yard,  though  cursed  and  stoned  by  the  rioters  while 
doing  it.  It  was  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning 
when  quiet  was  again  restored. 

Inside  of  South,  all  this  time,  dead  silence  had 
reigned  and  no  lights  had  been  visible.  The  denizens 
of  the  building,  after  barricading  the  doors  with  flag 
stones  torn  from  the  college  walks,  had  collected  therein 
all  the  weapons  and  missiles  known  to  college,  and 
retired  to  the  upper  stories  to  await  results, — deter 
mined,  as  from  the  first,  to  shed  no  blood  save  in  self- 
defence,  but  if  once  attacked  to  fight  it  out  till  the  last. 
For  several  nights  after  that,  they  "slept  on  their  arms," 
and  there  was  a  general  apprehension  throughout  the 
city  that  the  attack  might  be  renewed.  The  mayor 
called  upon  the  firemen  to  assemble  at  their  engine 
houses  on  Saturday  night  and  hold  themselves  in  readi 
ness  to  put  down  any  uprising ;  and  this  gave  rise  to 
the  report  that  the  real  object  of  the  action  was,  by  thus 
keeping  them  shut  up,  to  prevent  the  firemen  themselves 
from  fomenting  another  disturbance  ;  which  report  was 
so  generally  circulated  as  to  call  forth  an  official  contra 
diction. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5°9 

The  coroner's  investigation  brought  forth  nothing  to 
implicate  anyone  as  the  slayer  of  the  fallen  man,  and, 
though  he  was  of  course  believed  to  be  a  student,  all 
the  evidence  went  to  show  that  the  college  men  never 
once  left  the  sidewalk,  and  that  the  rioter,  when  he  fell, 
was  in  the  middle  of  the  street  and  surrounded  by  his 
friends.  It  was  notable  also  that  none  of  the  watch 
men  or  other  citizens  who  were  witnesses  could  "  re 
member  "  the  names  of  any  persons  whom  they  saw- 
engaged  in  the  riot,  and  hence  no  townies  were  tried  or 
arrested  for  their  share  in  the  disturbance.  The  man 
who  was  killed  was  the  ringleader  of  the  rioters,  both 
on  the  night  of  his  death  and  the  night  before,  when  he 
was  released  from  arrest  on  promising  to  keep  the 
peace.  His  name  was  Patrick  O'Neil,  his  occupation 
that  of  bar-keeper,  his  age  about  twenty-three,  and  he 
was  unmarried.  It  was  said  that  neither  he  nor  many 
in  the  mob  were  Irishmen,  though  the  riot  happened 
upon  the  night  of  St.  Patrick's  Day.  Of  course  the 
affair  created  great  excitement,  and  a  pamphlet  of  48 
pages  was  issued  concerning  it,  containing  the  testimony 
before  the  jury,  the  newspaper  accounts  and  comments, 
etc.  The  general  opinion  seemed  to  be  that  the  stu 
dents  were  entirely  in  the  right,  that  the  dead  man 
deserved  his  fate,  and  that  had  his  slayer  (who,  according 
to  college  tradition,  was  a  non-graduate  Senior  from 
Mississippi)  been  discovered,  he  would  have  been  freely 
acquitted.  For  some  time  both  before  and  after  the 
outbreak  no  student  could  walk  the  streets,  even  in  the 
clay  time,  without  being  wantonly  insulted  and  abused 
by  the  townies. 

Four  years  later  came  the  third  and  last  collision 
between  town  and  gown.  On  the  evening  of  Tuesday, 
February  9,  1858,  as  about  twenty  Juniors,  belonging  to 
the  "  Crocodile  Club,"  corner  of  Elm  and  High  streets, 


510  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

were  returning  from  supper,  and  passing  the  house  of 
"  Engine  No.  2,"  on  High  street,  in  the  rear  of  Alumni 
Hall,  they  got  into  an  altercation  with  three  or  four 
firemen  assembled  therein.  The  firemen  on  this  as  on 
previous  occasions  seemed  to  take  offense  at  the  singing 

&       o 

of  college  songs,  and,  on  the  night  before,  water  had 
been  thrown  on  the  singers, — accidentally  as  was  claimed 
by  the  firemen.  Several  of  the  latter  had  on  the  pre 
vious  Saturday  strolled  about  the  college  yard  and 
buildings  in  an  insolent  way,  and  been  free  in  their 
threats  and  imprecations.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was 
said  that  the  students  swore  at  and  insulted  the  firemen, 
threw  stones  against  the  door  of  the  engine-house  and 
smashed  the  windows.  The  crowd  had  passed  by  the 
engine-house  on  the  evening  in  question,  after  the  inter 
change  of  a  few  defiances,  when  it  was  decided  to  go 
back  and  see  about  the  matter.  Quite  an  excited  dis 
cussion  arose  about  the  "rights"  of  the  two  parties,  the 
students  being  now  on  the  side  of  the  street  opposite 
the  engine-house,  —  but  the  firemen  finally  admitted 
that  the  students  had  a  right  to  sing  their  songs,  and 
the  threatened  fight  seemed  to  be  smoothed  over,  when 
a  half-dozen  firemen,  who  had  been  sent  for  as  a  re- 
enforcement  at  the  first  hint  of  hostilities,  came  rushing 
across  from  York  street,  and  with  a  shout  of  "  Now  we 
have  them,  boys  !  "  the  leader  of  the  firemen  struck  with 
a  speaking  trumpet  the  person  with  whom  he  was  con 
versing  and  all  went  towards  the  students,  who  were 
just  about  withdrawing,  thinking  the  difficulty  at  an  end. 
Most  of  the  collegians  carried  canes  or  bangers,  several 
of  the  firemen  had  hose-wrenches  in  their  hands,  and 
a  tin  trumpet  was  also  picked  up,  after  the  affray  was 
over.  Bricks  were  also  thrown,  and  by  these  missiles 
or  blows  from  the  wrenches,  one  or  two  students  were 
knocked  down  and  badly  hurt.  As  the  last  onset  was 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5 1 1 

made,  there  was  a  cry  of  "  Shoot !  shoot !  "  and  two  or 
three  shots  followed  in  quick  succession  from  the  direc 
tion  of  the  students,  who  then  withdrew  to  the  colleges. 
The  firemen  then  discovered  that  one  of  their  number, 
who  had  been   the  leader  in  the  fray,   and  had  been 
noticed  a  moment  before  aiming  a  blow  with  a  wrench 
or  trumpet  at  a  prostrate   student,  was  wounded,  and 
bore  him  to  the  engine-house.     He  was  found  to  be  shot 
through  the  body,  and  died   the  following  afternoon, 
leaving  a  wife  and  one  or  two  children,  for  whom  a 
purse  of  $500  was  afterwards  made  up.     His  name  was 
William  Miles,  and  he  was  about  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
The  coroner's  jury  incriminated  no  one,  but  in  their 
verdict  they  censured  the  members  of  the  "  Crocodile 
Club"  for  refusing  to  give  testimony-.     Each  one  of  these 
refused  to  say  anything  that  "might  subject  himself  to  a 
criminal  prosecution,"  and  a  test  case  being  made,  one 
of  them  was  arrested  for  contempt,  brought  before  a 
judge  by  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  his  right  to  make 
such  refusal  was  sustained.     It  was  generally  believed, 
in  college  and  outside  it,  that  a  member  of  that  club 
committed  the  deed,  though  rumor,  even,  was  unable  to 
fix  upon  any  one  individual.     It  has  since  been  under 
stood  that  the  firer  of  the  fatal  shot  was  a  '59  man,  who 
was  himself  killed  in  one  of  the  closing  battles  of  the 
war,  March  6,  1865.     The  testimony  of  the  firemen  and 
the  students  was  contradictory,  one  party  claiming  that 
the  wrenches  were  used  before  the  shots  were  fired,  the 
other  afterwards,  and  each  declaring  the  other  to  be  the 
aggressors.     The  general  college  sentiment  rather  depre 
cated  the  shooting  as  needless  and  unjustifiable,  and 
favored  the  side  of  the  firemen  until  the  latter  some 
months  afterwards  published  a  series  of  scurrilous  "  res 
olutions"  in  regard  to  the  matter,  which  again  turned 
the  current  against  them.     The  fight  gave  occasion  for 


512  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  issue  of  the  last  Gallinipper  that  ever  appeared. 
The  "  Crocodiles  "  were  disbanded.  And  the  engine 
house  was  shortly  afterwards  bought  by  the  faculty,  and 
has  since  served  as  a  store-house  for  the  college  carpen 
ter.  Rumor  has  it  that  the  knife  and  pistol  which  did 
the  bloody  work  in  '54  and  '58  are  preserved  in  Keys 
hall  as  relics ;  though  another  story  tells  how  the  knife 
after  being  buried  under  the  college  flag-stones  was  dug 
up,  its  handle  burnt  to  dryest  dust,  and  the  blade  thrown 
into  the  college  well.  At  the  time  of  the  New  York 
draft  riots  of  1863,  a  similar  rising  was  feared  in  New 
Haven,  and  for  several  nights  the  colleges  were  barri 
caded  in  preparation  for  an  attack  ;  but  the  old  feeling 
of  enmity  has  long  since  disappeared,  with  the  disap 
pearance  of  the  fire  companies  whose  existence  fostered 
it,  and  whatever  hatred  now  exists  between  townies  and 
students  exists  between  individuals  simply.  A  college 
man  as  such  is  never  subjected  to  insult  or  indignity. 
Perhaps  if  he  visits  the  voting  places  of  the  Fifth  Ward 
on  election  day,  he  may  be  growled  at  a  little  by  the 
grown-up  roughs,  and  hooted  at  and  stoned  by  the 
smaller  ones, — but  the  same  thing  would  happen  to  any 
well-dressed  gentleman  venturing  in  the  vicinity. 

There  have  been  at  least  two  other  homicides,  how 
ever,  in  which  the  college  has  been  implicated,  and  these 
may  appropriately  be  described  at  this  place.  The 
latest  was  in  1860,  on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  Nov.  3, 
at  about  half-past  2  o'clock,  when  George  S.  Stafford,  a 
young  man  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  son  of  the 
printer,  and  of  general  good  character,  becoming  en 
gaged  in  a  drunken  quarrel  on  Court  street,  was  fatally 
stabbed  in  the  abdomen,  and  died  at  7  o'clock  on  Sun 
day,  lie  was  one  of  a  party  of  half  a  dozen  townies 
who  had  been  drinking  with  one  another,  and  with  a 
party  of  three  professional-school  students,  at  a  saloon 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  J  3 

under  the  Temple,  from  midnight  or  before  until  after 
two  in  the  morning.  The  two  parties,  besides  exchang 
ing  drinks,  had  engaged  in  scuffling,  knocking  off  hats, 
etc.,  pleasantly  enough,  until,  when  the  students  turned 
to  leave,  one  of  them  said  something  which,  whether  so 
intended  or  not,  was  construed  as  an  insult  by  Stafford, 
who  with  another  towny  followed  them  out  and  de 
manded  an  explanation  or  "  satisfaction."  In  the  course 
of  the  quarrel,  he  severely  punished  a  law  student 
named  McCulloch,  and  in  return  was  struck  on  the  head 
by  a  slung-shot,  afterwards  picked  up  and  proved  to 
belong  to  the  latter.  Rendered  temporarily  crazy  by 
the  effects  of  the  blow,  or  the  liquor,  or  the  excitement, 
he  broke  away  from  his  comrades  who  had  dragged  him 
off,  and  again  rushed  for  the  students.  McCulloch  call 
ing  for  help,  it  is  supposed  that  a  medical  student 
named  Belden  then  used  the  knife,  with  the  result  stated, 
— at  all  events,  the  bloody  weapon  picked  up  near  by,  by 
the  police,  was  afterwards  identified  as  belonging  to  him. 
The  three  students  were  arrested  and  locked  up,  and 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  examination  before  the  magis 
trate,  Nov.  10,  were  held  for  trial  before  the  superior 
court,  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  December, — William  H. 
McCulloch  being  released  on  $3000  bail,  Neilson  A. 
Baldwin  on  $2000  bail,  and  R.  K.  Belden  being 
remanded  to  jail  without  bail.  At  the  time  appointed 
they  were  brought  before  the  court,  and  no  charges 
being  found  against  the  first  two,  they  were  discharged, 
while  the  third  was  released  on  $2500  bail,  which 
amount  he  forfeited,  by  failing  to  appear  when  called  for. 
His  name  was  never  printed  in  the  college  catalogue, 
and  Baldwin,  who  took  his  M.  D.  degree  in  '61,  was  the 
only  one  of  the  three  who  graduated.  He  had  previ 
ously  taken  his  A.  B.  degree  at  Lafayette  College,  and 
on  the  night  of  the  affray  he  helped  attend  to  the  injuries 
of  the  wounded  man. 

23* 


5T4  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  other  affair,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  a  col 
lege  officer,  preceded  this  by  some  seventeen  years. 
Just  after  the  opening  of  the  fall  term  of  1843,  on  tne 
evening  of  Saturday,  Sept.  30,  at  about  half-past  9 
o'clock,  two  of  the  college  tutors — one  of  whom  was 
John  B.  Dwight  of  '40 — came  down  from  the  room  of 
one  of  them, — in  North  Middle,  north  entry,  second 
floor,  front, — to  prevent  disturbances  between  Sopho 
mores  and  Freshmen.  As  they  went  out  the  rear  door 
of  the  north  entry,  they  observed  a  crowd  of  a  dozen  or 
fifteen  Sophomores  ('46)  coming  from  the  direction  of  the 
Library  toward  Trumbull  Gallery  (the  present  Treasury), 
and  after  pausing  a  moment  they  heard  the  crashing  of 
broken  glass  in  the  lower  windows  of  North  Middle, 
and  at  once  gave  chase  after  the  supposed  smashers. 
Just  back  of  the  open  space  between  North  Middle  and 
the  Lyceum,  Tutor  Dwight  caught  sight  of  a  Soph  named 
Robert  Fassitt,  and  according  to  the  latter's  story  sprang 
upon  him  and  fell  with  him  to  the  ground.  Fassitt,  after 
warning  the  tutor  off,  drew  a  dirk  knife  and  struck  out 
above  him,  inflicting  three  stabs,  the  worst  of  which  was 
in  the  thigh  ;  but  although  the  wounds  bled  profusely 
they  were  not  considered  dangerous,  and  the  injured 
tutor  was  getting  along  very  well  until  he  was  seized 
with  a  fever  in  the  middle  of  the  following  week.  Oct. 
20,  three  weeks  from  the  night  of  the  assault,  he  died. 
Up  to  that  time  the  matter  had  been  kept  secret,  so  that 
Fassitt  might  not  take  alarm,  though  he  had  meantime 
been  expelled  and  had  left  town.  He  was  arrested  at 
his  home  in  Philadelphia,  Oct.  21,  and  put  under  bonds 
to  await  the  requisition  of  the  governor  of  Connecticut, 
but  instead  of  waiting  therefor,  he  came  at  once  to  New 
Haven,  and  surrendered  himself  to  the  authorities,  Oct. 
23.  At  his  preliminary  examination,  the  foregoing  facts 
were  elicited,  and  he  was  bound  over,  under  $5000 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  *  5 


bonds,  to  the  January,  1844,  term  of  the  superior  court, 
to  answer  to  the  charge  of  assault  with  intent  to  kill. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  court,  his  case  was  postponed  for 
a  year,  by  request  of  his  counsel,  and  again  to  the  Octo 
ber,  1845,  session,  at  which  time  his  bonds  were  called 
for  and  forfeited.  Had  he  stood  for  trial,  it  is  doubtful 
if  he  could  have  been  convicted  of  the  charge  made 
against  him  ;  as  it  would  have  been  an  open  question 
whether  the  fever  of  which  his  victim  finally  died,  was 
a  necessary  result  of  the  stabs  inflicted  by  himself.  On 
the  other  hand,  Fassitt  asserted  that  he  drew  his  knife 
merely  by  way  of  threat,  and  that  it  was  in  consequence 
of  his  falling  upon  it,  and  not  of  thrusts  made  by  him 
self,  that  the  tutor  was  injured.  College  tradition  also 
has  it  that  Tutor  E.  W.  Gilman  of  '43,  was  once  severely 
injured  in  attempting  to  interfere  with  some  Juniors, 
who  were  ringing  the  college  bell,  from  a  station  outside 
the  college  yard ;  also  that  another  tutor  was  knocked 
senseless  with  an  iron-bar,  while  attempting  to  interfere 
with  a  freshman  Pow-wow,  on  the  State  House  steps ; 
also  that  another  tutor  was  killed  at  a  Burial  of  Euclid 
celebration  on  Prospect  street,  and  that  the  name 
Tutor's  Lane  was  derived  from  the  circumstance  :  but 
all  these  stories  are  to  a  great  extent  mythical,  and  the 
four  authenticated  cases  of  homicide  must  be  allowed 
for  the  present  to  stand  by  themselves  as  forming  com 
plete  criminal  record  of  the  college. 

There  is  a  sort  of  traditional  hostility  between  the 
students  and  the  "  peelers" — as  the  city  police  are 
always  called.  Many  of  the  latter,  in  making  arrests, 
act  with  needless  insolence  and  brutality, — often  at  the 
time  of  a  rush  seizing  upon  innocent  by-standers  with 
out  attempting  to  take  the  chief  participants  in  the  dis 
turbance.  Then,  too,  arrests  are  often  made  from  mere 
caprice,  as  it  seems, — some  old  municipal  regulation 


5*6  POUR  YEARS  AT  YAL£. 

i 

which  had  long  been  a  dead  letter,  and  of  which  a  col 
lege  generation  has  grown  up  in  ignorance,  being  sud 
denly  enforced  to  its  fullest  extent.     Thus,  ball  may  be 
tossed  on   the  city  green   for  months   together,  without 
any  interruption,  when  suddenly  a  party  of  players  are 
pounced  upon  by  the  peelers,  and  heavily  fined  for  their 
crime,  in  the  police  court.     And  it  often   happens  that 
the  quietest,  most  law-abiding  members  of  the  college 
community  are  the  ones  dragged  before  that  august  tri 
bunal.     On  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  students  make 
it  a  point  to  wantonly  insult  and  exasperate  the  peelers 
on   every   occasion   when  it  can  be  done   with   safety. 
The  college  yard  is  their  castle,  for  no  peeler  can  law 
fully  enter  therein.     Hence  it  is  a  favorite  device,  from 
within  this  stronghold,  to  throw  snow-balls  at  the  guar 
dians  of  the  public  welfare  who  may  be  passing  in  the 
street ;  to  exhort  them  to  improve  their  marching  drill 
by  cries  of  "  Left !  left !  Left  !  right !  left  !  "  to  compli 
ment  their  personal  appearance,  criticize  the  different 
points  of  their  ".make-up,"  and  so  on.     A  peeler  who 
is  individually  unpopular,  for  prominence  in  making  an 
unfair  arrest  or  otherwise,  naturally  comes  in  for  special 
attentions   while  in  the   vicinity  of   the  colleges.      Of 
course  many   of   the  peelers   are  "  good   fellows,"   and 
friendly  to  the  students,  and  the  majority  of  the  latter 
never  unfairly  revenge  themselves  even  upon  the  most 
insolent  members  of  the  force ;  yet,  as  in  all  such  cases, 
the  evil-doers  on  both  sides  are  the  ones  who  come  into 
prominence,  and  are   taken  as   the  real   representative 
men.     The  peelers   are  hardly  more  popular   with   the 
lownies    than   with  the   collegians,  however,  and   their 
common  enmity  might  perhaps  form   a  bond  of  union 
between  these  once  hostile  parties,  should  any  great  con 
flict  of  authority  ever  arise.     An  example  of  this  ten 
dency  was   given    at  the    time   of   a    rush    which    the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5 1 7 

peelers  were  trying  to  break  up,  by  an  unknown  towny's 
putting  into  the  hand  of  a  '69  man  a  long  sheath-knife, 
worth  $4  or  $5,  with  the  request  that  he  use  it  against 
the  peelers.  The  towny  at  once  disappeared,  and 
never  afterwards  attempted  to  regain  his  dagger. 

On  the  last  day  of  October,  1870,  as  a  dozen  or 
twenty  Sophomores  were  playing  foot-ball  on  the  west 
side  of  the  city  green,  a  peeler  in  uniform,  who  advanced 
directly  from  the  station,  and  two  in  citizens'  clothes, 
who  came  up  on  the  College-street  side,  attempted  to 
arrest  them,  but  the  players  detected  the  trick  in  time 
to  withdraw  in  safety  to  the  college  yard.  One  of  their 
coats,  however,  which  was  left  upon  the  fence,  was 
seized  upon  by  a  peeler,  and  when  the  crowd  yelled, 
hooted,  and  blew  their  horns  at  him,  in  consequence,  he 
so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  chase  them  into  the  college 
yard — a  region  always  before  held  sacred  against  a  peel 
er's  approach — and  actually  to  throw  his  club  at  a  stu 
dent,  who  unfortunately  neglected  to  pick  it  up  as  a 
trophy.  When  the  peeler  withdrew,  taking  the  coat 
which  he  had  no  possible  right  to,  the  crowd,  which  had 
swelled  to  100  or  more,  followed,  demanding  it  back ; 
and  on  the  way  to  the  station  house,  more  peelers  hav 
ing  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  coat-stealer,  one  or  two 
arrests  were  made.  While  the  crowd  were  standing  in 
front  of  the  station-house  door,  talking  about  raising 
bail  for  those  who  had  been  taken  inside,  a  number  of 
peelers  appeared  and  ordered  them  to  disperse ;  and  as 
those  in  the  front  rank  were  giving  way,  slowly  of  course, 
because  of  pressure  in  the  rear,  Policeman  No.  14, 
Kelly  by  name, — who  had  previously  earned  a  bad  noto 
riety  about  the  college  and  city  for  his  reckless  brutality 
in  making  arrests,  and  so  on, — wantonly  knocked  down 
with  his  club  a  peacefully-disposed  Sophomore,  whose 
head  was  turned  away  from  him  and  who  was  endeavor- 


518  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ing  to  withdraw,  cutting  a  gash  in  and  nearly  fracturing 
his  skull.  It  was  at  first  thought  that  the  victim  was 
permanently  injured,  but,  after  a  term's  absence,  he 
finally  recovered  and  returned  to  his  college  duties. 
The  five  who  were  arrested  were  fined  $12.50  each, — 
though  there  was  no  evidence  to  identify  them  as  the 
original  ball-players, — and  the  fine  was  paid  by  the  four 
who  were  Sophomores,  while  the  fifth,  a  Senior,  who 
refused  to  submit  to  the  extortion,  was  released  without 
payment.  Next  day,  Nov.  i,  the  college  held  a  grand 
indignation  meeting,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  one 
from  each  class  to  collect  money  and  secure  good  legal 
talent  and  prosecute  "No.  14"  for  his  evil  deeds.  On 
the  same  evening  a  complaint  was  handed  in  against 
him,  and  he  was  tried  before  the  board  of  police  com 
missioners,  consisting  of  four  members  besides  the 
mayor.  Though  the  evidence,  including  that  of  three 
citizens  and  one  of  the  peelers,  was  overwhelmingly 
against  Kelly,  two  of  the  commissioners  voted  for  his 
acquittal  and  two  for  his  conviction,  and  as  the  mayor — 
out  of  political  considerations — refused  to  vote  at  all,  the 
complaint  fell  through.  Kelly,  however,  was  shortly 
afterwards  removed  from  the  force,  which  he  had  clone 
so  much  to  render  unpopular  among  the  college  men, 
and  active  legal  proceedings  for  damages  were  com 
menced  against  him  by  the  college  committee.  The 
proceedings  were  delayed,  however,  for  various  reasons, 
from  one  court  term  to  another,  until,  in  May,  1871, 
Kelly  compromised  matters  by  voluntarily  sending  in 
$50  to  his  victim,  accompanied  by  a  very  humble  apology 
for  his  brutality.  And  so  the  matter  ended.  As  first 
represented  in  the  public  prints,  this  unprovoked  and 
unjustifiable  knock-down,  was  nothing  else  than  a  "  riot 
of  Yale  students  against  the  city  police." 

The  amount  of  money  which  the  students  spend  in 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5 1 9 

the  city  is  of  course  quite  large,  though  it  cannot  be 
estimated  with  any  degree  of  exactness.  That  the 
college,  with  all  its  connections,  brings  to  New  Haven 
at  least  a  half-million  dollars  a  year,  is,  however,  a  gen 
eralization  which  few  would  care  to  dispute  ;  and  "  the 
college  trade  "  is  therefore  a  thing  which  few  city  shop 
keepers  can  afford  to  despise.  Most  of  them  are  ready 
to  give  several  months'  credit  to  the  students,  many  of 
whom  are  in  a  state  of  chronic  indebtedness,  although 
by  a  special  law  all  persons  are  forbidden  to  trust  a 
minor  connected  with  college,  except  at  their  own  risk, 
— no  bills  against  collegians  who  are  under  age  being 
collectable  through  the  courts.  This  rule  is  rarely  or 
never  taken  advantage  of,  however,  and  it  is  quite  excep 
tional  for  a  student  in  any  other  way  to  shirk  paying 
his  debts.  A  great  many  of  them  leave  unpaid  bills 
behind  them  when  they  graduate,  yet  most  of  these  are 
ultimately  liquidated,  so  that,  spite  of  the  occasional 
scamps  and  sharpers  which  infest  the  college  community 
as  they  do  every  other,  most  New  Haven  tradesmen 
will  admit  that  in  the  long  run  they  find  their  student 
patrons  quite  up  to  the  average  of  honor  and  morality 
in  financial  matters  which  they  expect  of  their  ordinary 
customers,  and  that  their  "  bad  debts  "  against  them  are 
few.  Some  reported  cases  of  student  dishonesty  have 
of  course  abundant  foundation  in  fact,  but  others,  when 
sifted  to  the  bottom,  will  be  found  to  be  little  more  cen 
surable  than  was  the  "  repudiation  "  of  the  old  Lit. 
"debt." 

In  November,  1824,  the  faculty  decreed  as  follows  in 
regard  to  uniform  dress  among  the  students  :  "  The 
coat  to  be  a  plain  frock-coat,  with  a  standing  cape. 
The  classes  to  be  distinguished  by  marks  of  braid  on 
the  cape  of  the  coat ;  the  Freshmen  wearing  one,  the 
Sophomores  two,  Juniors  three,  and  Seniors  four.  The 


520  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

color  of  the  broadcloth  or  cassimere  coat  and  pantaloons 
to  be  blue  ;  the  vest  either  black  or  blue.  The  thin 
coat  for  summer  to  be  a  black  frock-coat ;  the  vest  and 
pantaloons  either  black  or  white.  The  cravats  to  be 
black  or  white.  New  garments  made  after  the  present 
date  to  conform  to  the  above  description.  The  penalty 
for  appearing  in  a  different  dress  in  New  Haven,  a  fine 
of  fifty  cents  for  each  offense,  admonition  or  suspen 
sion."  Within  half  a  dozen  years  thereafter,  however, 
these  rules  were  all  done  away  with  as  impracticable, 
and  since  then  no  laws  of  the  sort  have  ever  been  in 
vogue.  There  is  very  great  freedom  in  the  matter  of 
dress,  and  no  one  is  looked  down  upon  on  account  of 
being  poorly  clothed.  The  same  individual  may  be  met 
upon  the  street  in  different  parts  of  the  day  completely 
transformed  in  garb, — at  one  time  rigged  out  in  the 
most  fashionable  habiliments,  and  at  another — as  when 
on  his  way  to  and  from  a  rowing,  sailing,  or  walking 
excursion — in  the  roughest  possible  garments.  Members 
of  the  University  crew  wear  their  blue  blouses  almost 
everywhere  during  the  summer  months,  and  in  '69  it 
was  thought  to  be  a  great  invasion  of  personal  liberty 
when  the  wearing  of  the  uniform  was  forbidden  in 
chapel  or  recitation.  At  all  the  public  exhibitions  of 
college  the  speakers,  performers-  and  actors  invariably 
wear  dress-suits  of  black,  and  at  Commencement  the 
president  assumes  a  flowing  robe  of  black  silk  and  vel 
vet.  Unless  to  these  the  freshman  Annual  hats  be 
added,  there  is  nothing  else  established  by  custom 
which  at  all  suggests  a  peculiar  academic  garb.  It  may 
be  remarked  that  many  of  the  swallow-tailed  coats 
used  at  college  exhibitions  are  borrowed  from  class 
mates  or  hired  of  costumers.  At  the  sophomore  decla 
mation,  and  at  the  freshman  and  sophomore  prize  de 
bates,  the  speakers  wear  their  ordinary  dress. 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  2  l 

Prejudices  as  to  birth,  or  State,  or  politics,  are  quite 
unknown  to  the  college.     It  is  a  useless  recommendation 
to  say  of  a  man  that   he  comes  of  a  good  family,  or 
belongs  to  a  particular  city  or  State :  he  will  be  judged 
by  himself  alone.     If  the  verdict  be  against  him,  the 
most  famous  of  family  connections  cannot  reverse  it ;  if 
it  be  in  his  favor,  the  most  humble  and  obscure  extrac 
tion  cannot  affect  it  in  the  least.     These,  in  fact,  are 
matters  concerning  which   no  one   ever  thinks   or   en 
quires,  or  cares  to  know.     The  same  is  true  as  regards 
the  matter  of  locality.     In  the  old  times,  the  Southern 
students  formed  a  sort  of  class  by  themselves,  but  in 
these  days  there  are  no  traces  left  of  any  such  clannish 
spirit,  and  there  is  no  particular  State  or  city  which  is 
looked  upon  as  a  more  honorable  or  distinguished  resi 
dence  than  any  other  State  or  city.     As  to  politics,  the 
majority   of    the    students    are    inclined    to    favor   the 
Republican  party,  and  once  during  each  of  the  last  two 
Presidential  campaigns  a  good  share  of  them  joined  to 
swell  the  size  of  its  procession.     For  the  two  campaigns 
preceding  the  last,  Republican   and  Democratic  clubs 
were  organized  and  held  regular  meetings,  and  fulfilled 
the  usual  duties  of  such  clubs.     Now-a-days,  there  is 
very  little  excitement  over  political  matters,  and   they 
seldom    form   a   topic   of  conversation.     When    talked 
about  at  all  it  is  usually  in  a  bantering  way,  half  in  joke 
and  half  in  earnest.     There  is  hardly  more  interest  in  a 
man's  politics  than  in  his  family  or  his  residence,  and 
like  them,  they  never  affect  his  social  position  in  any 
way.     A  loud-mouthed  defender  of  this  or  that  political 
party,  or  of  any  kind  of  "  ism  "  is  looked  upon  by  the 
rest  as  a  sort  of  curiosity   whom   it   is   "  good   fun   to 
draw  out "  by  the  utterance   of  sentiments  directly  op 
posed  to  his  own.     The  number  of  political  partisans  is 
perhaps  smaller  than  the  number  of  those  who  refuse  to 


522  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

admit  even  a  general  allegiance  to  either  party.  As  the 
Connecticut  State  elections  are  usually  very  closely 
contested,  the  question  of  allowing  the  students  the  right 
of  suffrage  has  been  thought  quite  an  important  one, 
and  has  been  variously  decided  by  the  authorities. 
Sometimes  students  have  been  allowed  to  vote  under  the 
same  conditions  as  everyone  else ;  sometimes  they  have 
been  arbitrarily  forbidden  to.  Seemingly,  the  "  select 
men  "  or  registration  officers  have  absolute  control  of 
the  matter,  and  are  accountable  to  nothing  but  public 
sentiment  in  making  their  decisions.  In  '69  a  test  case 
was  carried  into  the  courts  by  a  Sophomore  who  claimed 
the  right  of  voting.  The  merits  of  the  question  itself 
were  not  touched  upon,  but  the  case  was  overwhelmed 
in  a  mass  of  legal  technicalities,  and  the  student  failed 
to  get  his  name  upon  the  voting  list.  At  the  State  elec 
tion  of  1870,  however,  some  40  votes  were  cast  by 
students. 

In  New  Haven's  "  best  society  "  the  students  form  a 
quite  important  factor.  Indeed,  it  could  hardly,  in  its 
present  form,  exist  without  them,  as  very  few  other  young 
men  take  any  part  in  it.  Its  character  varies  greatly  in 
different  years  and  classes.  For  example,  there  was  but 
little  interest  taken  in  society  by  '69  men,  while  the  part 
played  therein  by  '70  was  an  unusually  important  one. 
The  young  ladies  in  society,  too,  are  constantly  changing, 
and  hardly  outlast  a  college  generation,  so  that  their 
numbers  and  attractiveness  likewise  largely  tend  to 
make  one  "  season "  a  greater  success  than  another. 
The  "  best  society "  here  is  probably  equal  to  the 
"best"  in  any  other  American  city,  and  the  readiness 
with  which  college  men  of  the  right  stamp  can  find 
access  to  it  is  thought,  by  those  who  believe  in  society 
influence  as  a  means  of  general  culture,  to  be  not  the 
least  of  the  minor  advantages  of  life  at  Yale.  In 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  523 

another  sphere  of  city  society  —  which  college  men 
generally  look  upon  as  an  inferior  sphere — where  the 
young  men  of  the  town  take  the  lead,  a  few  students  also 
take  part,  but  they  are  those  who  have  little  position 
among  their  fellows,  and  are  not  regarded  as  "  society 
men  "  by  anyone  save  themselves.  Probably  less  than 
half  of  the  men  who  graduate  ever  make  any  acquaint 
ances  whatever  in  the  city,  and  less  than  half  of  that 
number  become  "society  men"  at  all.  Society  is  not 
usually  entered  much  before  junior  year,  but  the 
acquaintanceships  there  formed  often  last  long  after 
graduation,  and  an  "  ex-society  man  "  is  always  sure  of 
a  warm  welcome  whenever  he  comes  up  to  the  city.  At 
a  guess,  a  half-dozen  or  more  in  every  class  ultimately 
marry  New  Haven  girls,  or  girls  to  whom  New  Haven 
society  first  introduced  them,  and  the  number  of  "  col 
lege  widows  "  is  not  by  any  means  so  large  as  is  some 
times  represented.  A  "  college  widow  "  is  the  unfor 
tunate  young  woman,  who,  having  been  the  pet  of  several 
college  generations  without  making  a  single  permanent 
capture,  at  last  finds  herself  deserted  of  admirers,  and 
with  faded  charms  falls  out  of  sight  and  memory.  Some 
such  there  doubtless  are,  yet  of  the  maiden  ladies  of  un 
certain  age  residing  in  the  city,  it  has  yet  to  be  shown 
that  any  disproportionate  number  belonged  to  that 
sphere  of  society  in  which  alone  the  students  figure  as 
the  chief  and  only  eligible  "society  men." 

One  of  the  most  approved  entrances  to  city  "  society" 
lies,  oddly  enough,  through  the  doors  of  the  "  mission 
schools."  There  are  several  of  these  in  town,  under 
the  direction  of  the  churches,  —  the  "  Bethany  "  and 
"  Davenport  "  missions  being  the  ones  which  attract  to 
their  standards  the  largest  number  of  collegians.  On 
Sunday  afternoons,  at  the  mission  houses,  are  assembled 
the  children  of  poor  people  who  do  not  attend  the 


524  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

churches,  and  there  the  good  young  gentlemen  of  the 
college  and  the  good  young  ladies  of  the  city  meet  to 
instruct  them  in  religion  and  morality, — or,  in  other 
words,  to  act  as  teachers  in  carrying  on  a  Sunday  school. 
Of  course  the  college  teachers  are  not  so  rude  as  to 
allow  their  gentler  assistants  to  walk  home  unattended, 
and  so  they  come  to  attend  them  on  less  solemn  occa 
sions,  and  so  "  society  "  is  fairly  entered  at  last.  Hence 
"the  missions"  draw  into  their  service  a  good  many 
men  who  are  not  specially  noted  for  religious  enthusiasm 
while  among  their  fellows, — though  perhaps  their  lack 
of  it  on  "  week  days  "  is  made  up  by  extra  displays  of 
zeal  while  on  active  duty.  Most  of  them  doubtless 
deserve  considerable  credit  for  their  work,  but  there 
would  probably  be  heavy  desertions  from  their  ranks, 
should  the  pretty  girls  who  now  "  assist "  them  be  sud 
denly  withdrawn  from  the  service. 

As  for  voluntary  religious  observances  among  the 
students  themselves,  each  class  generally  holds  a  prayer 
meeting  twice  every  week, — at  the  close  of  the  Sunday 
morning  service,  and  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  exercises 
lasting  about  half  an  hour.  A  college  prayer  meeting, 
in  the  president's  lecture  room,  is  also  held  for  an  hour 
every  Friday  evening,  at  which  the  college  pastor  pre 
sides,  and  the  professors  sometimes  take  part.  As  a 
rule,  the  services  are  rather  thinly  attended  ;  though  in 
times  of  a  "revival"  large  crowds  are  often  present,  and 
the  meetings  are  held  more  frequently.  There  is  also  a 
"  Missionary  Society,"  which  holds  a  meeting  on  the 
first  Sunday  evening  of  each  month,  when  addresses  are 
often  made  by  distinguished  men  from  abroad.  For 
some  time  previous  to  1862  the  monthly  meeting  came 
on  the  first  Tuesday  evening.  The  society  was  founded 
in  1817,  and  has  quite  a  large  nominal  membership, 
comprising  a  good  part  of  the  steady  men  of  all  the 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  5  2  5 

classes.  A  trifling  initiation  fee  is  usually  exacted  "for 
the  good  of  the  cause."  The  officers  are  elected  about 
the  middle  of  the  summer  term  and  serve  for  a  year. 
Formerly  the  society  held  No.  49  South  Middle  as  a 
reading-room,  where  all  the  religious  newspapers,  maga 
zines  and  periodicals  of  every  sort,  and  of  every  denom 
ination,  were  accessible  throughout  the  week.  Since 
the  establishment  of  the  college  reading-room,  this 
literature  is  spread  upon  the  tables  thereof  every  Satur 
day  evening,  and  removed  on  Monday  morning,  and  in 
the  interval  is  the  only  literary  pabulum  supplied  to  the 
college  public.  During  the  week,  of  course,  it  can  be 
procured  whenever  called  for.  A  published  list  of  six 
men  chosen  June  4,  1861,  as  officers  of  the  "Society  of 
Inquiry  "  is  the  only  trace  left  of  the  Yale  chapter  of 
that  wide-spread  organization.  A  "  Moral  Society,"  of 
about  the  same  purposeless  character,  once  existed  also  ; 
and  there  was  a  "  Benevolent  Society  "  which  dissolved 
in  1824,  giving  to  the  college  its  library  and  $5000  in 
cash.  This  gift  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Benevolent  Library,  from  which,  to  the  present  day,  all  the 
poorer  students  draw  their  college  text-books.  Since 
the  graduation  of  '69  there  has  also  been  established  a 
"  Berkeley  Association,"  of  Episcopal  students,  which  at 
present  comprises  30  members,  holds  weekly  religious 
meetings,  and  carries  on  an  Episcopal  mission  school. 

Of  course  Yale  has  a  "  Temperance  Society  "  also, 
which  like  its  counterparts  elsewhere,  sustains  a  rather 
fitful  and  erratic  existence.  In  the  Lit.  for  March,  1852, 
it  is  spoken  of  as  having  been  established  for  some  time, 
and  this  account  is  given  of  its  organization  :  "  It  is 
customary  for  the  friends  of  temperance  in  each  class 
as  it  enters  college  to  form  for  themselves  an  independ 
ent  society,  having  a  constitution  and  officers  of  its  own. 
The  four  class  societies  thus  formed  constitute  the  col- 


526  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

lege  society  proper,  which  has  another  but  not  dissimi 
lar  constitution,  and  whose    five  offices — of  president, 
vice  president,  corresponding  secretary,  recording  sec 
retary,  and  treasurer — are  rilled  respectively  by  the  pres 
ident  of  the  college  and  of   each  class    society  in  its 
order.     This  body  holds  one  meeting  a  year,  at  some 
convenient  time  during  the  second  term,  when  a  lecturer 
is  procured  from  abroad."     Eight  years  later,  a  college 
writer    bases  a  few   general  remarks    on    "  the    recent 
establishment  of  a  temperance  society  among  us,"  as  if 
the  existence  of  the  said  society  vvas  quite  a  new  thing 
under  the  sun.     In  1863,  tne   society  was  again  revived 
among    the    Freshmen    of    '67,    about    half   of   whom 
pledged  themselves  to  use  no  intoxicating  drinks  dur 
ing  their  college  course, — in  witness  whereof  their  names 
were  printed  in  the  Banner.     Two  years  later,  when  '69 
entered  college,  "  the  cause  "  was  again  forced  upon  the 
attention  of  undergraduates,  by   inviting   them  all  to  a 
meeting  in  one  of  the    society  halls,  where  addresses 
were  made  by  members  of  the  faculty,  and  representa 
tives  of  the  several  classes,  and  a  pledge,  similar  to  that 
of  '67,  save  that  its  conditions  lasted  but  a  single  year, 
was  offered  for  the  signatures  of  all.     Four  officers  were 
chosen,  one  from  each   class,  but  the  freshman  office 
was    afterwards    abolished.     The    other   three    officials 
have  since  been  elected,  during  each  summer  term,  and 
their  names  have  duly  figured  in  the  college  prints,  but 
the  remaining  members  of  the  society — if  there  are  any 
— are  unknown.     About  once  in  twelve  months  a  tem 
perance  reformer  delivers  an   address   to   the  students, 
"  under  the   auspices  of  the   society,"  and   doubtless  a 
few  Freshmen  are  quietly  "  pledged  "  each  year.     Com 
paratively   few   of   the    moderate    men    ever   take    the 
pledge,  and  the  recruits  gained  by  the   society  in  its 
periods  of  spasmodic  activity  are   derived  chiefly  from 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  527 

two  classes  :  the  "  moral  men,"  who  would  never  drink 
in  any  case,  but  who  sign  their  names  for  the  sake  of 
"  influence  "  and  "  example  "  ;  and  the  "  bummers  " 
who,  under  that  influence  and  example,  take  the  pledge 
— and  break  it. 

Public  sentiment  in  college  inclines  favorably  towards 
moderate  drinking,  and  does  not  disapprove  of  otie's 
"  getting  comfortably  tight,"  occasionally.  To  chaff  a 
man  for  participating  in  some  well-known  drinking  bout 
is  accounted  rather  complimentary  than  otherwise,  and 
the  laughable  antics  'of  one  who  was  then  over  excited 
by  liquor  are  often  related  in  his  presence,  and  accepted 
in  the  light  of  a  joke.  Drunkenness,  however,  is 
frowned  down  upon,  and  cases  of  it  are  not  common. 
It  is  seldom  that  a  Yale  man,  while  "on  a  bum,"  so  far 
loses  his  wits  as  to  be  unable  to  reach  his  room  unas 
sisted  j  and  instances  of  arrest  by  the  police  of  drunken 
students  are  almost  unheard  of.  A  hard  drinker  or 
habitual  drunkard  would  not  be  tolerated  by  his  class 
mates,  even  were  it  possible  to  keep  his  habits  from  the 
notice  of  the  faculty.  Quite  a  large  portion  of  college 
are  total  abstinence  men,  a  very  great  majority  never 
drink  to  excess,  and  the  number  even  of  moderate 
"  bummers  " — who  perhaps  "  get  tight  "  once  or  twice  a 
year,  at  the  time  of  a  society  supper  or  some  special 
celebration — is  comparatively  small.  It  should  be  said 
that  the  drinking  exploits  in  New  Haven  of  visitors 
from  outside  colleges,  where  the  standard  of  morality  is 
supposed  to  be  higher  than  at  Yale,  often  exceed  any 
thing  which  the  hardiest  Yale  "  bummer "  is  accus 
tomed  to. 

Licentiousness  must  of  course  prevail  to  some  extent 
among  so  large  a  body  of  men  •  yet  it  is  not  regarded 
as  leniently  as  over  indulgence  in  drink  is  by  them.  A 
man's  doings  in  this  direction  are  not,  in  his  presence, 


528  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

talked  about  as  a  pleasant  jest,  even  by  his  friends. 
Faults  of  the  kind  are  of  course  forgiven  and  overlooked 
often  enough,  but  they  are  always  regarded  as  faults 
and  as  disreputable  ones,  and,  when  known,  they  rather 
tend  to  lower  the  subject  of  them  in  popular  esteem. 
Once  in  a  while  a  man— perhaps,  on  an  average,  one 
man  in  a  class — is  said  to  keep  a  mistress  of  his  own  ; 
and  once  in  a  while— perhaps  a  little  less  often— a  man's 
hurried  withdrawal  from  college  gives  notice  of  an  un 
fortunate  intrigue  with  some  damsel  of  the  city;  but 
were  cases  of  the  sort,  among  the'  same  class  of  men, 
no  more  common  elsewhere,  the  world  might  be  purer 
than  it  now  is.  Swearing  is  to  a  certain  extent  a  very 
prevalent  habit ;  but  other  forms  of  vulgarity  and  foul 
ness  in  speech  are  less  approved  of,  though  gatherings 
where  "Venus  rules  o'er  all  that's  said,"  as  well  as 
"Bacchus  o'er  all  that's  done,"  are  not  altogether  un 
known.  It  is  the  Freshmen  who  go  to  the  greatest 
excess  in  all  sorts  of  indulgences  ;  and  the  representa 
tives  of  college  to  be  found  at  the  concert  rooms  and 
dance  halls  are  almost  wholly  drawn  from  among  their 
number. 

Smoking  is  of  course  very  common, — two  thirds  of 
the  '69  graduates  being  smokers,  and  the  proportion 
probably  being  very  nearly  an  average  one.  On  the 
same  basis,  one-third  of  the  smokers  also  chew  tobacco, 
and  one-half  of  all  college  play  billiards.  "  Eli's,"  close 
beside  the  post-office,  has  long  been  the  favorite  billiard 
room,  and  "Rood's,"  on  Union  street,  is  equally  popu 
lar  as  a  drinking  resort  for  the  more  fiery  beverages, 
while  "  Trager's  "  and  "  Moricirty's  "  are  the  chief  head 
quarters  of  undergraduate  beer-guzzlers.  Card  playing 
is  almost  universal,  whist  and  euchre  being  the  games 
chiefly  affected.  In  '69,  out  of  117  men  only  a  baker's 
dozen  refused  to  be  classed  as  card-players.  The  gam- 


THE  S  TUDENT  LIFE.  529 

bling  dens  of  the  city  are  not  often  visited  except  in 
curiosity,  and  "  the  tiger  is  fought "  for  very  small  stakes, 
if  at  all.  A  member  of  '70,  however,  "  ran  a  faro  bank," 
in  a  modest  way,  in  his  college  room,  for  a  while.  The 
game  of  chess  usually  has  quite  a  number  of  votaries, 
and  class  or  college  chess-clubs  have  occasionally  fig 
ured  in  the  Banner  for  fifteen  years  or  more.  In  1861 
it  was  spoken  of  as  customary  for  the  college  club  to 
hold  an  annual  "chess  tournament,"  wherein  the  "cham 
pionship  "  was  decided  as  follows  :  The  Seniors  played 
against  the  Juniors  and  the  Sophomores  against  the 
Freshmen,  and  the  winners  of  these  preliminary  games 
then  engaged  in  the  third  and  decisive  trial.  The  class 
of  '6 1  were  the  champions  for  three  successive  years. 
Three  matches  have  been  played  against  Harvard, — 
at  the  time  of  the  regattas  of  '59,  '60  and  '66, — and 
the  two  latter  were  won  by  Yale,  though  in  each  case 
the  game  was  unfinished.  Harvard  also  won  a  billiard 
match  in  1859  ;  and  endeavored  without  avail  at  that 
time  to  extemporize  with  Yale  a  champion  trial  in  the 
manly  game  of  "  checkers  "  !  A  year  later,  the  Yale 
Freshmen  accepted  a  challenge  for  a  billiard  match 
from  those  of  Harvard,  but  if  the  game  was  ever  played 
it  was  doubtless  a  victory  for  the  latter,  as  no  account 
of  it  has  been  preserved.  During  the  earlier  months 
of  1869,  college,  like  the  rest  of  the  country,  went  wild 
on  the  subjects  of  velocipedes,  and  student  riders  of 
the  bicycle  were  constantly  rolling  along  the  sidewalks 
in  every  part  of  the  city.  The  "rage  "  was  nearly  over 
when  a  municipal  ordinance  banished  the  machines 
from  the  streets,  but  for  some  time  thereafter  the  college 
yard  supplied  a  course  upon  which  many  dauntless 
velocipedists  could  disport  themselves.  It  was  notable 
that  at  one  of  the  rinks  in  the  city  was  exhibited  an  old 
bicycle  upon  which  a  Yale  man  used  to  roll  about  town, 

24 


53°  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

half  a  century  before.  Another  ancient  college  curios 
ity,  whose  history  is  unknown,  was  brought  to  light  in 
1860.  This  was  nothing  less  than  a  bottle,  full  of  cider, 
with  "Yale  Class  of  1802  "  blown  into  the  glass,  which 
was  dug  up  from  the  ruins  of  an  old  house  demolished 
at  that  time.  The  special  significance  of  this  "  class 
bottle  "  can  only  be  guessed  at. 

"Yachting"  would  perhaps  be  too  pretentious  a  term 
to  apply,  to  the  common  sailing  experiences  of  the  stu 
dents,  though  once  in  a  while  a  college  man  owns  a 
yacht  of  his  own,  worth  from  $500  to  $800,  and  becomes 
quite  an  expert  sailor.  Sometimes  a  club,  of  a  dozen 
or  less,  purchase  a  yacht ;  though  more  often  a  similar 
crowd  hire  a  boat  for  the  season, — paying  a  certain 
price  for  the  privilege  of  having  a  certain  craft  at  their 
disposal  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoon  dur 
ing  the  summer  term.  A  skipper  who  agrees  to  be 
always  in  readiness  to  sail  the  boat,  and  a  purser  who 
collects  and  pays  out  the  money,  are  the  only  officers 
chosen.  "  Down  to  the  Light  and  back"  is  the  favorite 
trip  of  an  afternoon.  If  supper  is  indulged  in  there, 
perhaps  the  return  is  made  in  the  evening's  moonlight. 
On  special  occasions,  longer  excursions  are  sometimes 
made, — as  to  Double  Beach,  Branford  Point,  or  Thimble 
Islands, — at  which  times  provisions  and  extra  clothing 
are  carried  along,  and  the  night  is  spent  either  on  ship 
board  or  at  the  neighboring  hotels.  To  run  entirely 
across  the  Sound  and  make  Long  Island  proper,  is  an 
exploit  that  is  not  often  ventured  upon.  It  is  quite  a 
common  thing  for  a  party  to  get  "  caught  out,"  either  by 
a  calm  or  a  storm,  and  be  obliged  to  stay  upon  the  water 
much  longer  than  they  intended.  Many  a  Saturday 
night  is  spent  in  this  way,  and  often  do  the  tired  mari 
ners  "  make  up"  next  day  in  chapel  the  sleep  thus 
denied  them.  Frequently  the  greater  part  of  a  crew, 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  3 1 

who  are  delayed  by  stress  of  weather,  will  walk  in  from 
the  Light,  or  take  the  cars  from  Branford  or  Stony 
Creek,  and  leave  the  skipper,  with  a  trusty  lieutenant  or 
two,  to  sail  their  craft  up  to  the  city,  next  day. 

Seniors,  in  the  interval  between  Presentation  and 
Commencement,  often  "camp  out"  for  a  week  or  two 
upon  one  of  the  Thimble  Islands  ;  taking  along  a  suffi 
ciency  of  eatables  and  drinkables  and  a  cook  to  attend 
to  their  wants  j  hiring  the  necessary  furniture  and  uten 
sils  from  some  farmer  or  hotel  on  the  mainland  ;  and 
sleeping  in  tents  or  rough  cabins  rented  for  the  purpose. 
The  day  is  passed  in  sailing,  fishing,  swimming,  basking 
on  the  rocks,  smoking,  sleeping,  eating  and  drinking ;  in 
living  after  the  manner  of  the  primitive  savage,  the 
independent  barbarian,  with  no  human  being  to  molest 
the  idler  or  make  him  afraid.  Once  in  a  while,  a  flying 
trip  is  made  to  the  city,  and  almost  every  day  fresh 
newspapers  and  periodicals  are  brought  off  from  the 
mainland,  and  these — with  a  few  stray  books  not  much 
read — are  all-sufficient  reminders  of  the  great  world 
outside.  Such  a  life  of  simple  laziness  is  far  from  being 
as  monotonous  as  it  appears  on  paper.  For  those  who 
enjoy  it,  it  furnishes  a  happy  ending  off  of  college  days, 
and  is  sure  to  be  over  all  too  soon.  Instead  of  "  camp 
ing  out,"  a  party  of  Seniors  in  the  interval  before  Com 
mencement  may  charter  a  large,  sea-going  yacht,  with  an 
experienced  skipper  or  two  to  manage  it,  and  sail  along 
the  coast  up  to  New  London,  or  Providence,  or  even 
Boston,  visiting  all  the  notable  places  on  the  way. 
Under-class  men  less  often  do  the  same  thing  ;  and,  as 
already  noted,  the  Glee  Club  propose  this  summer  to  go 
on  an  excursion  of  the  sort,  giving  vocal  concerts  at  the 
places  where  they  may  stop.  Most  of  the  college  sail 
ors  belong  to  no  club,  but  make  a  separate  bargain  for 
a  boat  every  time  they  use  one  ;  and  on  a  pleasant 


532  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Wednesday  or  Saturday  afternoon  in  summer  a  late 
comer  at  "  the  float"  stands  a  small  chance  of  finding  a 
craft  unengaged.  With  so  many  unskilful  hands  guid 
ing  their  tillers,  the  boats  are  of  course  liable  to  acci 
dent  ;  but  there  were  no  cases  of  drowning  while  '69  was 
in  college,  though  there  were  one  or  two  narrow  escapes 
from  it.  Row-boats  are  hired  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  rowing  and  sailing  parties  usually  take  "  a  swim" 
before  returning  to  the  city, — since  there  is  no  good  bath 
ing  shore  within  easy  walking  distance  of  the  colleges. 

Walking  is  an  exercise  practised  to  a  considerable 
extent.  East  and  West  Rocks,  the  Judges'  Cave,  Winter- 
green  Falls,  Edgewood,  Maltby  Park,  the  Old  Fort,  Savin 
Rock,  the  Light  House,  Lake  SaltonstaH,  and  even 
Mount  Carmel,  ten  miles  away,  attract  to  themselves  a 
goodly  number  of  pedestrians.  Besides  these  famous 
places,  the  long,  shaded  streets,  quiet  suburbs,  and 
pleasant  walks  in  and  about  the  city,  should  not  be  for 
gotten,  though  they  cannot  each  be  mentioned  here. 
Walking  parties  of  two,  or  three,  or  four,  rarely  of  half 
a  dozen,  are  to  be  met  with  in  all  directions  on  pleasant 
half-holidays.  On  Sunday  afternoon,  too,  many  go  out 
to  air  themselves,  but  as  a  rule  they  do  not  venture  far 
beyond  the  city  pavements.  The  post  office  is  always 
the  objective  point  for  a  short  walk,  and  three  times 
a  clay — after  morning  recitation,  just  before  dinner,  and 
just  after  supper — crowds  of  collegians  are  to  be  seen 
sauntering  towards  or  returning  from  that  rendezvous. 
Foot-racing  on  the  course  at  Hamilton  Park,  for  a  pur^e 
and  the  championship,  is  counted  among  the  recent 
customs,  though  perhaps  it  is  only  an  old  one  revived. 
In  the  latter  part  of  January,  1869,  a  4-mile  race  was 
run  by  a  Junior  and  Sophomore,  and  won  by  the  former 
in  37111.  545.,  —  the  ground  being  icy,  and  frequent 
slip-ups  of  the'runners  adding  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  533 

numerous  spectators.  May  25,  1870,  a  more  important 
race  was  held,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Navy,  for  prizes 
of  $15,  $10  and  $5, — an  admission  fee  of  15  cents  being 
charged  the  large  crowd  of  spectators  who  attended 
from  city  and  college.  Seven  contestants  entered — 2 
Seniors,  i  Junior,  3  Sophomores  and  i  Freshman — 
though  only  three  completed  the  entire  three  miles,  and 
these  three  were  members  of  the  University  crew.  The 
race  was  won  by  a  Sophomore  in  18:52  ;  followed  by  a 
Junior  in  19:12,  and  a  Freshman  in  20:30.  Of  the  other 
contestants  two  withdrew  at  the  end  of  the  first  mile, 
and  two  at  the  end  of  2} 3  and  2li  miles. 

Skating,  at  the  Park  or  at  Lake  Saltonstall,  is  an 
amusement  taken  part  in  by  many,  at  times  when  the 
weather  permits.  The  Park  is  flooded  artificially,  and 
an  entrance  fee  is  of  course  charged  thereto.  A  large 
red  ball,  swung  out  at  the  junction  of  the  horse  rail 
roads,  corner  of  State  and  Chapel  streets,  gives  notice 
when  the  ponds  are  in  readiness.  In  skating  times  the 
Lake  is  rendered  accessible  by  special  trains,  which  are 
run  thither  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoons,  and 
evenings  also  when  it  is  moonlight.  Both  skating  resorts 
are  of  course  frequented  by  the  townspeople  also, — 
including  many  ladies,  escorted  by  students  or  others, — 
but  of  late  years  the  popularity  of  this  pastime  seems  to 
be  on  the  decline.  Few  college  men  are  wealthy  enough 
to  keep  horses  of  their  own,  and  they  indulge  in  very  lit 
tle  of  what  may  be  called  pleasure  driving.  When  they 
"  hire  a  team,"  it  is  usually  to  show  up  the  city  to  friends 
who  may  be  visiting  them,  or  to  make  a  display  at  a 
base-ball  match,  or  regatta,  or  skating  carnival,  or  pub 
lic  celebration  of  some  sort.  Even  then,  they  are  com 
monly  accompanied  by  ladies ;  so  that  the  sight  of  a 
party  of  collegians  driving  about  town  by  themselves 
"  just  for  the  fun  of  it"  may  on  any  occasion  be  called  an 


534  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

unusual  one.  Horse-back  riding  is  naturally  still  rarer 
than  pleasure  driving,  though  there  are  some  good  riders 
in  almost  every  class.  During  the  fall  term  of  1870,  the 
English  game  of  "hare  and  hounds"  was  several  times 
indulged  in  by  the  Juniors,  and  quoit  pitching  by  the 
Seniors  was  largely  engaged  in.  Perhaps  to  the  list  of 
student  amusements  should  be  added  the  games  of  top- 
spinning,  leap-frog,  hop-scotch,  penny-pitching,  and  others 
of  the  sort,  the  more  childish  the  better,  which  the  Sen 
iors — for  the  mere  absurdity  of  the  thing — have  a  way 
of  affecting,  for  a  week  or  so  at  a  time,  during  the  term 
or  two  which  precedes  their  graduation. 

As  a  rule,  each  class  loses  by  death  an  average  of  one 
man  for  each  year  of  its  course.  When  a  college  man 
whose  home  is  elsewhere  dies  in  New  Haven,  funeral 
services  are  held  in  the  Chapel,  and  his  body  is  escorted 
to  its  last  resting  place  by  a  committee  of  the  class  or 
society  to  which  he  belonged, — the  entire  class  following 
it  in  procession  as  far  as  the  railway  station.  The 
majority  of  them  also  attend  the  funeral  itself,  when  it 
takes  place  at  a  point  not  too  distant  from  the  city.  A 
badge  of  mourning  is  worn  for  a  period  of  thirty  clays, 
and  a  series  of  "  resolutions,"  testifying  to  the  good 
qualities  of  the  deceased,  are  uniformly  adopted  and 
published.  If  a  junior  society  loses  a  member,  it  adopts 
a  special  set  of  "  resolutions"  which  are  forwarded  to  all 
the  other  chapters  of  the  fraternity,  but  are  not  usually 
made  public  outside  it.  In  the  old  times,  instead  of  the 
"  resolutions,"  a  number  of  "lines"  used  to  be  printed 
in  the  Lit.  or  elsewhere,  by  way  of  obituary.  Then, 
also,  before  the  clays  of  railroads,  the  bodies  of  those 
belonging  far  away  had  to  be  buried  in  the  New  Haven 
cemetery.  The  "  college  lot"  is  quite  near  the  entrance 
of  the  same,  and  many  tutors  as  well  as  undergaduates 
of  all  classes  have  been  laid  there  side  by  side.  Their 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  535 

grave  stones  and  monuments  were  usually  erected  at 
the  expense  of  the  college  or  the  class. 

What  may  be  called  the  post-graduate  life  of  a  class 
was  a  thing  unknown  until  within  the  last  half  century. 
Informal  reunions  of  such  classmates  as  happened  to 
meet  in  town  on  Commencement  days  were  doubtless 
as   old    as   the   college    itself,    but    the    class   of    '21 
was — probably — the  first  to  hold  a  regular  class  meeting, 
on  which  the  attendance  of  every  classmate  was  sought 
or  compelled  by  organized  effort.     It  took  place  in  1824, 
and  it  is  probable  that  every  class  since  that  first  one 
has   held  a  triennial   meeting,   though  eleven  classes 
between  '2 1  and  '40  have  left  no  record  to  show  that 
such  was  the  case.     Since  '40,  every  class  is  known  to 
have  held  a  triennial  save  '58,  whose  first  meeting  was, 
on  account  of  the  war,  postponed  until  1865.     The  sec 
ond  regular  meeting  of  the  class  is  usually  held  6  years 
after  graduation  ;  the  third,  in   10  years  ;   the  fourth  in 
15  years;  and  so  on  for  every  5  years  thereafter,  until 
none  of  the  class  are  left  to  meet.     The  quarter-century 
gathering  is  usually  made  more  of  than  any  other  reun 
ion  after  decennial,  which  comes  next  in  importance  to 
the  first  triennial,  though  perhaps   as  a  rule  the  even- 
year  are  more  fully  attended  than  the  odd-year  anniver 
saries.     The  conferring  of  the  second  degree  (A.M.)  in 
course,  three  years  from  graduation  day,  probable  sug 
gested  the  idea  of  holding  the  first  reunion  at  that  time. 
After  the  custom  was  once  inaugurated  by  '21,  some  of 
the  older  classes  began  to  make  an  organized  effort  to 
re-assemble  their  members.     The  class  of  '14  first  met 
in  1839  ;  of  '10,  in  1840  ;    of  '17,  in    1842  ;   of  '13,  in 
1843  ;   of  '97,  in  1847;   of  '16,  in  1850;    and  of  '/9,  in 
1859.     Several  of  these  classes  have  held  subsequent 
meetings,  and  perhaps  other  predecessors  of  '21  should 
be  added  to  the  list,  but  the  data  for  certifying  facts  of 
this  sort  are  obtained  with  difficulty. 


536  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  a  class,  before  Presentation 
Day  breaks  it  up,  is  the  election  of  a  committee  to  have 
charge  of  the  first  reunion.  One  of  these  is  chosen 
"class  secretary,"  and  on  him  the  greater  part  of  the 
burden  falls.  His  duty  is  to  issue  a  circular,  inviting  to 
the  triennial  meeting  all  who  were  ever  connected  with 
the  class,  and  to  so  "  keep  track  "  of  every  man  of  them 
as  to  be  able  to  compile  a  complete  history  of  all  their 
three  years'  doings,  and  present  it  in  the  form  of  a 
"class  record."  "  'What  is  a  class  record  ?'  Those  of 
the  classes  of  '58  and  '62  which  are  the  most  complete 
of  any  yet  [1866]  published,  contain  an  account  of  the 
triennial  meeting,  giving  the  names  of  those  present, 
and  the  songs  and  speeches,  followed  by  a  biographical 
record  of  the  graduate  and  then  of  the  non-graduate 
members,  and  finally  several  pages  of  statistics  of 
graduates  and  non-graduates  respectively,  showing 
when  and  where  they  were  born,  when  they  entered 
and  left  the  class,  their  professions  and  occupations, 
what  degrees  they  have  received,  when,  where  and  to 
whom  they  were  married,  the  names  and  birthdays  of 
children,  the  deaths  of  classmates,  of  their  wives 
and  children,  and,  lastly,  the  present  address  of  each 
class  member.  This  makes  a  pamphlet  of  from  70  to 
125  pages,  is  paid  for  by  a  tax  on  the  class,  and  is  sent 
to  every  one  ever  connected  with  it.  Classes  formerly 
tried  to  confine  their  record  and  interest  to  their 
graduates  simply,  but  it  was  found  difficult,  unpleasant 
and  altogether  inexpedient,  and  classes  have  come 
gradually  to  welcome  all  to  their  meeting  and  supper 
and  record. 

"  in  1839,  the  class  of  '36  at  their  annual  meeting 
inaugurated  the  happy  custom  of  publishing  a  triennial 
'  class  record,'  containing  an  account  of  the  meeting, 
together  with  a  brief  biographical  sketch  of  the  life  of 


TtiE  STUDENT  LlfrE.  537 

each  member  of  the  class  after  graduation.  Their 
example  was  not  followed,  except  by  '37  and  '44,  until 
'47  met  in  1850,  since  which  time  no  class  has  failed  to 
publish  a  triennial  record  except  '58,  which  published 
its  first  one  in  1865.  After  the  publication  of  the  first 
class  record,  by  '36,  in  1839,  older  classes  hastened  to 
follow  their  example,  and  we  find  records  of  the  class  of 
'97,  published  in  1848  ;  of  '02,  in  1863  ;  of  '10,  in  1840  ; 
of  '13,  in  1843;  of  '14,  in  1839  and  1854,  both  in  cir 
cular  form,  containing  little  more  than  addresses  ;  of 
'16,  in  1850  and  1867;  of  '17,  in  1842,  1853  and  1858; 
of  '19,  in  1861  ;  of  '21,  in  1831  and  1836,  in  circular 
form,  and  in  1841  and  1846,  in  book  form;  of  '22,  in 
1840,  in  circular  form,  and  in  1845,  1855,  1860  and 
1869,  in  book  form  ;  of  '24,  in  1844,  1855  and  1864  ;  of 
'25,  in  1864  and  1865,  in  circular  form  ;  of '26,  in  1866; 
of '28,  circular,  in  1868;  and  of '33,  in  1843  and  1854." 
The  classes  after  '36,  have  also  published  records  as 
follows  :— '37,  in  1840,  1847,  1850,  1858  and  1868;  '39, 
in  1865  ;  '40,  in  1850  and  1860;  '41,  in  1851,  1862  and 
1867;  '42,  in  1857;  '43,  in  1859;  '44,  in  1847,  1854 
and  1864  ;  '45,  in  1851  and  1866  ;  '47,  in  1850  ;  '48,  in 
1852  and  1869  ;  '49,  in  1852,  1859  and  1865  ;  '50,  in 
1853,  1861  and  1865  ;  '51,  in  1854;  '52,  in  1855,  ^62 
and  1868;  '53,  in  1857,  1860  and  1864;  '54,  in  1858; 
'55,  in  1859  and  1866;  '56,  in  1859  and  1867;  '57, 
in  1861,  1863  and  1870  ;  '58,  in  1865  and  1869  ;  '59,  in 
1863  and  1870;  '60,  in  1863  and  1870;  '61,  in  1864 
and  1867  ;  '62,  in  1865  ;  '63,  in  1869  ;  '64,  in  1868  ;  '65, 
in  1870;  '66,  in  1869;  and  '67,  in  1870.  The  third 
record  of '33,  which  appeared  in  1870,  comprised  144 
pages,  and  about  a  dozen  steel-plate  portraits  and  en 
gravings,  and  was  perhaps  the  most  elaborate  affair  of 
the  sort  issued  to  date.  Many  of  the  recent  records  are 
bound  in  flexible  cloth  covers,  instead  of  paper,  as  for- 

24* 


538  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

merly.  There  are  probably  some  errors  and  omissions 
in  the  above  lists,  though  it  is  believed  that  they  are  in 
the  main  correct  and  complete. 

The  night  before  Commencement  is  the  time  when 
nearly  all  the  class  meetings  are  held.  Sometime 
during  the  day  a  business  meeting  is  called,  in  one  of 
the  recitation  or  lecture  rooms,  when  the  class  committee 
report  the  arrangements  which  have  been  made  by  them, 
and  a  tax  is  levied  to  pay  for  the  supper,  cup,  record, 
and  other  expenses  of  the  class.  Legs  are  crossed 
under  the  supper  table  in  some  hotel  dining-room  at 
about  nine  in  the  evening,  and  the  scene  of  festivities  is 
not  abandoned  until  daybreak,  when  the  class  march, 
two  by  two,  to  the  Library  building,  and  assemble  around 
their  Ivy,  to  which  they  bade  adieu  three,  six,  ten,  fif 
teen  years  before.  Here  a  song  is  sung,  a  leaf  or  two 
picked  from  the  sacred  vine  by  each  one  as  a  memento, 
and  after  a  hearty  cheer  for  the  dear  old  class  and  col 
lege,  a  ring  is  formed,  hands  are  shaken  all  round,  and 
the  gathering  disbands.  But  how  has  the  night  been 
passed  ?  With  song,  and  speech  and  loud  hurrah,  the 
old  life's  been  lived  o'er  again.  "  About  fourteen  regu 
lar  toasts — to  Alma  Mater,  the  Class,  the  Deceased 
Members,  the  Absent,  the  Wives,  the  Children,  the 
Bachelors,  the  Clergy,  the  Lawyers,  the  Physicians,  the 
Teachers,  the  Business  Men,  the  Press,  and  the  Non- 
Graduates — give  those  who  can't  keep  still  a  chance  to 
instruct  or  amuse  the  class,  while  the  cracking  of  nuts 
and  jokes,  the  popping  of  corks,  the  blowing  of  clouds, 
and  the  going  over  of  old  times,  consume  the  hours  so 
rapidly  that  it  is  never  a  question  of  what  to  do,  but  of 
finding  time  to  finish  before  sunrise."  Two  or  three 
classes  are  oftentimes  holding  their  reunions  simulta 
neously  in  different  rooms  of  a  single  hotel.  The  older 
ones,  who  are  celebrating  their  twenty-fifth  or  thirtieth 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  539 

anniversary,  are  of  course  not  so  uproarious  in  their 
hilarity  as  the  "  three-years'  men,"  who  are  next  day  to 
become  "  Masters  of  Arts,"  but  mirth  and  conviviality 
and  good  fellowship  prevail  even  among  the  oldest  and 
most  dignified,  and  sleep  cannot  well  be  courted  in  very 
close  proximity  to  their  banquet  hall.  Occasionally  an 
old  graduate  belonging  in  the  city  entertains  his  class 
at  his  own  residence,  when  the  year  of  meeting  comes 
round,  and  the  wives  and  children  of  the  class  are  also 
invited  to  the  festivities. 

But  of  course  the  first  or  triennial  meeting  is  the  most 
largely  and  enthusiastically  attended  of  any,  and  it  has 
hitherto  had  one  peculiar  feature  of  its  own, — the 
presentation  of  the  Class  Cup.  The  custom  originated, 
apparently  as  a  sort  of  impromptu  joke,  in  the  class  of 
'44:  "At  our  subsequent  informal  meeting  of  1846,  the 
circumstance  of  a  child  being  born  to  us  so  soon  after 
graduation  rather  touched  our.  mirthfulness,  and  it  was 
to  give  vent  to  our  spirit  of  fun,  as  much  as  for  any 
other  reason,  that  the  presentation  project  was  conceived. 
Probably  the  fact  that  the  child  was  about  weaning  age, 
suggested  the  Cup  as  a  proper  gift.  Accordingly  an 
elegant  silver  goblet  was  procured,  whereon  was  en 
graved  a  long  dedicatory  inscription  in  Latin,  and  on 
the  forenoon  of  Commencement  Day  the  class  marched 
to  the  residence  of  the  boy's  father,  and  their  spokesman 
presented  the  cup  in  these  words  :  '  Fili  Amantissime  : — 
Pro  classe,  hoc  scyphum  tibi  dono,  ut  primogeniture 
premium.  Accipe  !  Vive  et  vale !  bonus  sis  vir ! 
patrise  ornamentum  —  mundi  benefactor  ! '  After  the 
health,  happiness,  long  life  and  prosperity  of  the  boy 
had  been  drank  by  the  company,  they  bade  him  farewell 
with  many  hearty  expressions  of  interest  in  his  welfare." 

"  The  class  of  '49  inaugurated  the  plan  of  giving  the 
Cup  to  the  first  male  child,  the  custom  as  first  established 


540  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

having  resulted  in  the  class  of  '48  in  the  reception  of  the 
cup  by  a  girl,  who  chanced  to  be  the  first  child,  and  who 
now  thus  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  female 
cup-bearer.  The  class  of  '50  went  a  step  further,  and 
required  the  boy  to  be  present  and  to  receive  the  cup  in 
person  and  not  by  the  proxy  of  his  father.  The  custom 
thus  amended  by  '49  and  '50  was  continued  to  the  end, 
and  from  '44  to  '67  there  were  only  two  instances  in 
which  thet  Cup  was  not  presented  at  the  close  of  the 
third  year  after  graduation.  All  the  children  of '56  when 
that  class  met  at  triennial  were  girls,  and  the  class  had 
resolved  to  present  the  cup  to  the  oldest  girl,  but  as  she 
was  absent,  they  decided  to  wait  until  their  decennial 
meeting,  and  then  present  the  cup  to  the  oldest  boy  born 
to  any  classmate  who  should  have  married  since  the 
triennial.  No  cup  was  presented  at  the  meeting  of 
1866,  however,  although  up  to  that  time  the  class  had 
had  43  children  to  select  from.  The  next  exception 
was  in  '58,  whose  triennial  meeting  was  postponed  until 
1865,  when  the  eldest  boy,  and  the  second  in  age,  not 
being  present,  the  cup  was  presented  to  the  third  boy 
in  age,  who  was  present."  Hall's  "College  Words  and 
Customs"  (1856),  oddly  enough,  mentions  the  ceremony 
as  a  myth,  and  says :  "  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  cus 
tom  so  agreeable  in  theory  could  not  be  reduced  to 
practice  !  "  It  may  be  remarked  that  none  of  the  "  Class 
Cup  Boys  "  have  as  yet  graduated  from  the  college. 

Latterly,  the  Cup  presentation  was  made  at  the  supper 
table,  after  the  substantiate  had  been  disposed  of,  and 
just  befo/e  the  dessert  was  announced, — say,  at  about 
10  o'clock.  At  that  time  "the  friends  of  the  class"" — 
both  ladies  and  gentlemen — were  admitted  by  ticket  to 
the  banquet  hall,  together  with  the  Cup  Boy  and  his 
mama.  As  witty  a  man  as  possible  was  selected  to  make 
the  presentation  speech,  and  if  the  humorous  allusions 


THE  STUDENT  LIFE.  5  4 1 

were  sometimes  of  a  rather  questionable  delicacy,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  women  are  not  always  on 
the  watch  for  double  meanings,  and  that  to  the  pure  all 
things  are  pure.  The  "  happy  father  "  of  course  made 
the  response,  and  after  the  singing  of  the  Cup  Song, 
written  like  several  others  especially  for  the  occasion, 
the  boy  withdrew  with  his  costly  prize,  and  the  guests 
soon  followed  him.  Then  the  class  discussed  the  dessert 
by  themselves  and  had  things  their  own  way  until  the 
corning  of  the  morning  light.  The  mother  of  the  Cup 
Boy,  being  one  of  the  central  figures  of  the  presentation 
show,  had  to  undergo  a  rather  trying  ordeal  for  a  young 
wife,  exposed  as  she  was  to  the  critical  gaze  of  100  or 
more  men  and  a  larger  number  of  women,  but  she 
generally  sustained  her  share  of  it  bravely  enough,  with 
out  much  evidence  of  embarrassment.  The  presenta 
tion  of  '67,  last  year,  was  confessedly  about  the  most 
successful  one  ever  held  ;  but  it  will  probably  never 
have  a  successor,  as  the  father  of  the  first  boy  of  '68 
has  refused  to  receive  any  Cup,  in  the  child's  behalf,  and 
the  example  will  be  followed  by  '69  ;  and  with  a  two 
years'  precedent  thus  established  it  is  safe  to  predict 
that  the  custom  will  never  again  be  revived.  Though 
it  had  some  pleasant  features,  and  was  regarded  by  New 
Haven  ladies  as  the  most  lf  interesting "  of  college 
exhibitions,  it  was  no  great  honor  to  the  good  taste  of 
the  collegians,  and  few  will  regret  its  final  disappearance. 


PART    THIRD. 
THE    OFFICIAL    CURRICULUM. 


CHAPTER  I. 
STUDIES. 

The  Entrance  Examinations — White  and  Blue  Papers — When  to 
Attend — How  to  be  Prepared — Quantity  and  Quality — Advanced 
Students— Organization  of  the  Class — The  Recitation  Rooms 
and  Recitations— Mode  of  Instruction — Exceptional  Pronuncia 
tion  of  Greek  Society-Letters—Optional  Work— The  Term 
Examinations  —  The  Annuals  — The  Studies  Pursued  by  the 
Class  of  '69 — Freshman  Year — Sophomore  Year — Junior  Year 
—  Senior  Year — Variations  and  Changes  in  the  Curriculum— 
The  Studies  of  a  Century  Ago — Old  Systems  of  Examination. 

At  nine  o'clock  of  a  summer's  morning,  the  "candi 
date  for  admission  to  Yale  College  "  presents  himself, 
with  fear  and  trembling,  at  the  door  of  Alumni  Hall. 
Just  within  the  entrance,  he  finds  a  long  table  behind 
which  two  or  three  officials  are  seated,  and  here  he 
hands  in  his  name  and  "  character."  The  envelope  con 
taining  the  latter — which  is  simply  a  recommendation  of 
his  general  morality,  signed  by  the  principal  of  his  pre 
paratory  school,  a  clergyman,  or  other  responsible  per 
son — is  laid  aside  for  future  examination,  and  the  can 
didate  is  forthwith  escorted  to  his  seat.  This  is  at  a 
small  octagonal  table,  the  counterparts  of  which,  to  the 
number  of  a  hundred  or  more,  are  grouped,  in  rows  of 
four,  at  convenient  intervals  throughout  the  hall.  On 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  543 

his  table  he  finds  a  blank  form,  which  he  is  requested  to 
at  once  fill  out  in  pencil,  thereby  indicating  the  date  of 
the  examination,  his  own  full  name  and  residence,  the 
date  and  place  of  his  birth,  the  full  name  and  address 
of  his  father  or  guardian,  the  place  of  his  preparatory 
study  and  the  name  of  his  chief  instructor  there,  the 
class  which  he  proposes  to  enter,  and,  if  he  comes  from 
another  college,  the  name  of  the  class  and  college  left. 
Having  finished  with  the  blank,  he  gazes  at  the  portraits 
on  the  wall,  and  the  strange  faces  all  around  him  ;  thinks 
what  a  green-looking  set  his  future  classmates  appear 
to  be  ;  wonders  "  how  they  are  getting  along,"  as  the 
examiners  move  among  them,  and  when  his  own  turn 
will  come.  At  length,  when  he  has  about  made  up  his 
mind  that  he  has  been  overlooked  altogether,  an 
examiner  approaches,  copies  his  name  from  the  blank 
into  a  curious  little  pocket-book,  hands  him  a  text-book, 
and  points  to  a  marked  passage  within  it,  or  leaves  him 
a  mathematical  paper  ;  then  departs.  In  five  or  ten 
minutes — the  time  occupied  in  examining  another  candi 
date — the  examiner  returns,  and  if  our  friend  signifies 
his  readiness  he  recites,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  still 
sitting  at  his  table.  A  few  hieroglyphics  are  marked  in 
the  score-book,  and  he  is  again  left  alone,  to  reflect  that 
for  good  or  ill  at  least  one  step  has  been  taken.  After 
waiting  ten  minutes  or  an  hour,  another  examiner  ap 
proaches  him,  and  the  same  process  is  gone  through 
with.  At  one  o'clock  an  hour's  intermission  is  an 
nounced,  and  the  stroke  of  two  finds  all  the  sub-Fresh 
men  at  their  tables  again.  So  the  hours  drag  along  until 
about  five,  when  the  few  who  have  finished  their  work 
lean  back  in  their  chairs,  nervously  awaiting  the  result. 
Unmoved  by  the  feverish  glances  leveled  at  him  from 
many  pairs  of  expectant  eyes,  the  grim  chief  of  the 
examiners  picks  up  from  his  table  several  sheets  of  cer- 


544  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

tificates — some  white,  others  blue — which  he  has  just 
filled  out,  and  starts  on  a  tour  of  the  hall.  Perhaps  he 
comes  to  the  row  of  tables  before  one  of  which  sits 
our  imaginary  friend.  He  glances  at  his  name  and 
compares  it  with  the  certificates  in  his  own  hand.  He 
looks  sharply  at  the  blue  papers  :  thereby  causing  a 
shudder  to  sieze  upon  our  friend,  who  shuts  his  eyes  in 
despair.  But  no ;  the  grim  agent  of  fate  has  gone, 
leaving  behind  upon  the  table  a  white  paper,  which 
"  may  certify  that  Our  Friend  has  been  admitted  on 
probation  a  member  of  the  freshman  class."  If  the  sub- 
Fresh  doesn't  turn  a  somersault  and  fling  his  cap  to  the 
ceiling  with  a  yell  of  delight ;  if,  instead  of  this,  he 
simply  picks  up  his  precious  certificate  and  quietly 
withdraws  from  the  inquisitorial  hall,  followed  by  the 
longing  glances  of  the  poor  wretches  who  are  still  at 
work  ;  if  he  makes  no  outward  demonstrations  of  his  joy  ; 
it  is  not  because  he  does  not  esteem  that  moment  the 
happiest  moment  of  his  life.  But  the  blue  paper  ?  This 
certifies  that  a  candidate  has  "passed"  on  certain 
branches,  and  will  be  admitted  on  condition  of  satisfactory 
"  making  up  "  the  others  at  a  subsequent  examination. 
Men  who  receive  the  blue  paper  are  therefore  said  to  be 
"conditioned."  Those  who  fall  below  average  on  too 
many  studies  are  rejected  altogether. 

For  two  hours  after  the  earliest  certificates  are  given 
out,  men  are  all  the  time  finishing  their  work,  receiving 
their  papers  and  leaving  the  hall,  yet  the  number  of 
these  who  get  through  on  the  first  day  is  quite  small. 
The  great  majority  are  dismissed  at  half-past  six  or 
seven,  and  requested  to  re-assemble  at  eight  on  the 
following  morning,  when  most  of  them  complete  their 
work.  Some,  however,  are  detained  in  the  hall  for  the 
greater  part  of  two  entire  days.  The  description  just 
given  applies  to  the  examination  begun  on  the  Monday 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  545 

morning  preceding  Commencement  and  continuing 
through  that  and  the  following  day,  and  also  to  that 
held  on  the  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  immediately  pre 
ceding  the  opening  of  the  year  in  September.  From 
1868  onwards  the  July  examination  has  begun  on  Satur 
day,  on  which  day  few  attend  save  the  Grammar  School 
boys  and  others  belonging  in  the  city — and  all  of  them 
therefore  have  time  to  finish  their  work  then.  At  the 
sessions  of  Monday  and  Tuesday,  on  account  of  their 
absence,  matters  are  now  doubtless  conducted  more  ex- 
peditiously  than  before.  From  the  present  year  onwards, 
the  three  days  of  examination  are  to  begin  with  the 
Saturday  after  instead  of  the  Saturday  before  Com 
mencement.  Candidates  who  delay  entering  until  the 
last  day  of  either  the  July  or  the  September  examina 
tions —  a  very  small  number — are  "  put  through"  in 
that  one  day.  The  examination  itself  does  not  take  up 
more  than  one  third  or  one  fourth  the  time  that  the  can 
didate  is  detained  in  the  hall,  and  the  most  tedious  part 
of  the  ordeal  for  him  is  the  listlessly  sitting  still  during 
the  uncertain  intervals  of  waiting.  This  result  seems 
to  be  unavoidable,  however,  since,  in  addition  to  the 
faculty,  as  large  a  force  of  examiners  as  can  work  to 
advantage  are  detailed  for  the  business  from  other  quar 
ters.  Special  private  examinations  in  vacation  can  only 
be  secured  after  considerable  trouble  and  the  payment 
of  a  $10  fee  to  the  treasurer.  It  is  good  policy  for  a 
boy  to  apply  at  the  first  or  July  examination,  since  he 
is  then  fresh  from  the  preparatory  school.  If  admitted, 
he  can  enjoy  his  whole  vacation  to  the  utmost ;  if  con 
ditioned,  he  can  set  aside  a  definite  part  of  it  in  which 
to  do  the  necessary  cramming,  and  make  up  his  con 
ditions  at  the  September  examination  in  time  to  enter 
the  class  with  the  rest.  But  if  he  waits  until  that  second 
examination  before  trying  to  enter  at  all,  and  is  then 


546  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

conditioned,  he  cannot  join  his  class  until  two  or  three 
weeks  after  the  term  has  begun.  In  such  a  case  he 
generally  employs  a  private  tutor  to  direct  him  in 
"studying  up."  About  ten  per  cent,  of  those  who  apply 
for  admission  are  rejected,  and  more  than  half  of  those 
who  are  finally  admitted  are  conditioned  at  the  first 
trial.  Most  of  the  conditioned  men  ultimately  make  up, 
though  many  are  conditioned  twice  and  even  three  times 
before  winning  their  white  papers.  Last  year  the  ex 
periment  was  tried  of  allowing  the  conditioned  men  to 
recite  with  the  class  in  those  branches  in  which  they 
had  passed,  and  to  make  up  their  conditions  together 
under  the  direction  of  special  instructors,  employed  for 
the  purpose  by  the  faculty.  Whenever  an  instructor 
thought  a  man  had  improved  enough  to  deserve  promo 
tion  to  the  class,  he  was  promoted  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
six  weeks  those  not  thus  recommended  were  dropped 
altogether. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  freshman  class  are 
expected  to  stand  an  examination  on  the  following  books 
and  subjects:  (i)  Jugurthine  War  of  Sallust,  or  four 
book  of  Ccesar ;  seven  orations  of  Cicero ;  Bucolics, 
Georgics,  and  first  six  books  of  the  /Eneid  of  Virgil ; 
and  the  first  twelve  chapters  (to  the  Passive  Voice)  of 
Arnold's  Latin  Prose  Composition.  (2)  The  first  three 
books  of  Xenophon's  Anabasis  ;  and  Jacobs's,  Colton's 
or  Felton's  Reader.  As  a  substitute  for  the  latter,  the  last 
four  books  of  the  Anabasis,  or  four  books  of  Homer's 
Iliad,  may  be  offered.  When  '69  entered  college, 
only  'two  books  of  the  latter  were  required.  (3)  Higher 
arithmetic,  including  the  metric  system  of  weights  and 
measures, — the  latter,  a  qualification  not  exacted  of  '69  ; 
Loomis's  Algebra,  to  quadratic  equations ;  and  the  first 
two  books  of  Playfair's  Euclid.  Wnen  '69  entered,  no 
substitute  would  be  taken  for  the  latter,  but  all  who  had 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  547 

studied  other  text-books,  no  matter  how  good  their 
knowledge  of  geometry,  were  conditioned  on  Euclid. 
Now,  however,  the  first,  third,  and  fourth  books  of 
Davies's  Legendre's  Elements,  or  of  Loomis's  Elements, 
are  accepted  as  an  equivalent  for  the  first  two  of  Play- 
fair.  (4)  English  Grammar  and  Geography  ;  "  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  which  will  be  required."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  under  this  fourth  division,  sometimes  a 
few  and  sometimes  no  questions  at  all  are  asked.  Suf 
ficient  knowledge  of  the  English  is  of  course  indirectly 
shown  in  passing  muster  on  the  Latin  and  Greek  gram 
mars.  Proof  of  acquaintance  with  the  latter,  or  the 
want  of  it,  is  drawn  out  by  questions  connected  with  the 
construction  of  the  text  which  one  has  translated,  not 
by  formal  examinations  on  the  grammars  themselves, 
considered  as  distinct  works.  Ability  to  scan  Latin  and 
Greek  hexameters,  and  to  explain  their  metrical  con 
struction,  is  about  all  that  is  demanded  in  the  way  of 
"prosody."  A  candidate  is  sometimes  conditioned  on 
the  grammar,  or  a  particular  part  of  it,  like  the  one  just 
referred  to,  however,  and  conditions  on  arithmetic,  and 
even  on  geography,  are  not  by  any  means  unknown. 
Quantity  as  well  as  quality  is  considered  by  the 
examiner.  The  one  who  has  charge  of  a  particular 
author  usually  questions  the  candidate  as  to  the  extent 
of  his  preparation.  If  he  has  read  more  than  is  required, 
the  fact  counts  in  his  favor,  and  may  help  to  pass  him, 
even  though  his  actual  recitation  be  hardly  up  to  aver 
age.  On  the  other  hand,  a  candidate  who  has  read  less 
than  the  required  quantity  may  be  able  to  make  up  for 
it  by  the  superior  quality  of  his  recitation.  If  the 
examiner  asks  no  questions,  and  no  confessions  are 
made  in  advance,  it  is  of  course  understood  that  the 
candidate  is  ready  to  stand  the  full  examination,  and 
inability  to  do  it  on  actual  trial  is  not  excused  or  atoned 


548  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

for  by  special  excellence  in  a  particular  part  of  the  work. 
The  candidate  is  called  upon  for  only  a  few  lines  from 
an  author,  but  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  few  lines  the 
examiner  bases  his  verdict  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
entire  author  ;  and  as  the  passages  are  selected  at  hap 
hazard,  the  many  hundred  lines  must  be  prepared  as 
carefully  as  if  they  were  all  to  be  recited,  instead  of  a 
very  small  representative  number  of  them.  A  boy 
acquainted  with  only  one  of  Cicero's  orations  might  suc 
cessfully  pass  examination  on  seven  of  them,  but,  under 
the  law  of  chances,  he  would  not  be  likely  to.  Connected 
with  the  certificate  of  admission  is  the  blank  form  of  a 
bond  for  $200,  in  which  sum  the  parent  or  guardian  of 
the  youth  is  to  be  "  held  and  firmly  bound  to  the  presi 
dent  and  fellows,"  as  a  security  for  the  payment  of  all 
their  just  charges  against  him.  This  bond,  properly 
signed  and  stamped,  is  handed  in  to  the  treasurer  at  the 
beginning  of  the  first  freshman  term,  and  surrendered 
by  him  when  he  receipts  the  last  term  bill  of  senior 
year.  A  century  ago,  it  was  simply  required  of  appli 
cants  for  admission  "  that  they  be  able  well  to  construe 
and  parse  Tully's  orations,  Virgil,  and  the  Greek  Testa 
ment  ;  and  understand  the  rules  of  common  Arithmetic." 
It  has  been  implied  that  very  few  enter  college  after 
the  commencement  of  the  course,  yet  there  are  a  few 
"candidates  for  advanced  standing,"  and  these  are 
obliged  to  pass  both  the  regular  freshman  entrance  ex 
amination,  and  an  examination  on  all  the  studies  pursued 
up  to  that  time  by  the  class  they  propose  to  join.  Let 
ters  of  recommendation  from,  and  certificates  of  scholar 
ship  at,  another  college,  have  no  effect  in  varying  or 
lessening  these  examinations.  They  are  held  either  in 
connection  with  the  regular  ones,  or  at  any  time  during 
the  course,  but  no  one  can  be  admitted  to  a  class  after 
the  first  term  of  senior  year.  An  advanced  student,  not 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  549 

coming  from  another  college,  pays  a  fee  of  $5  for  every 
term  passed  over  by  the  class  before  he  joins  it.  A  few, 
perhaps  half  a  dozen,  enter  at  the  beginning  of  sopho 
more  year  ;  fewer  yet  at  the  beginning  of  junior  year  ; 
and  a  new  Senior  is  a  rare  as  well  as  awkward  bird 
indeed.  A  late-entered  student  is  always  at  a  disad 
vantage,  rarely  gains  much  position  in  college,  and  never 
gets  into  the  full  sympathy  of  his  classmates  who  have 
been  together  from  the  first.  Of  117  graduates  of  '69, 
less  than  a  dozen  entered  after  the  first  term  of  fresh 
man  year ;  though  one,  who  never  made  a  recitation 
with  the  class,  came  up  to  New  Haven  at  the  close  of 
senior  year,  passed  the  term  and  annual  examinations  of 
the  four  years'  course,  and  so  secured  his  A.B.  degree. 

On  the  Thursday  'morning — near  the  middle  of  Sep 
tember — which  opens  the  academic  year,  the  Freshmen, 
in  response  to  the  ringing  of  the  prayer-bell,  assemble 
at  the  Chapel,  with  the  other  classes,  and  occupy  such 
seats,  in  the  rear  of  the  house  and  in  the  galleries,  as 
seem  to  have  no  regular  owners.  At  the  close  of  the 
exercises,  before  the  assembly  is  dismissed,  each  class  is 
ordered  to  meet  at  a  particular  time  and  place,  to  be 
informed  about  its  term's  work  by  the  proper  officer, — 
the  Freshman  being  requested  to  reassemble  at  the 
Chapel  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock.  They  are  then  met 
by  two  or  three  of  the  faculty,  who  read  off  an  alpha 
betical  list  of  all  who  have  been  admitted  to  the  class, 
and  arrange  upon  the  seats  in  the  same  order  those  who 
answer  to  the  call.  The  few  who  fail  to  respond  per 
haps  intended  to  enter  college  with  the  next  class,  but 
passed  their  examinations  with  this  one,  on  account  of 
having  just  finished  their  preparatory  course  ;  or  per 
haps  an  afterthought  has  attracted  them  to  other  col 
leges  ;  or  perhaps  changed  circumstances  have  induced 
them  to  give  up  altogether  their  proposed  college  life, 


550  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

But  the  officers  in  charge  having  assured  themselves 
that  the  names  on  the  roll  are  represented  by  Freshman 
in  the  flesh  before  them,  proceed  to  form  the  class  into 
divisions.  The  first  alphabetical  quarter  is  the  first 
division,  ending  with  a  particular  name,  and  so  on  for 
the  second,  third  and  fourth.  In  drawing  the  lines, 
regard  is  doubtless  paid  to  the  names  of  those  "out  on 
condition"  who  will  in  a  few  days  become  members  of 
the  class.  The  lessons  are  then  allotted, — to  the  first 
division,  Homer's  Odyssey  ;  to  the  second,  Livy  ;  to  the 
third,  Euclid  ;  to  the  fourth,  Algebra, — and  the  divisions 
are  instructed  to  report  themselves,  at  their  several  reci 
tation  rooms  in  the  Athenaeum,  in  readiness  to  recite 
them,  at  5  o'clock.  Arrived  there,  the  Freshmen  are 
seated  alphabetically  upon  the  three  rows  of  rising 
benches,  beginning  with  the  back  corner,  and  are 
requested  to  retain  the  same  relative  positions  in  future 
recitations,  both  in  that  and  other  recitation  rooms. 
The  back  bench  and  the  end  seats  of  all  the  benches 
are  deemed  specially  eligible.  The  division  officer  sits 
behind  a  sort  of  raised  box  or  pulpit,  overlooking  the 
whole.  Blackboards  and  maps  line  the  walls,  which  are 
whitewashed,  and  rows  of  hat  hooks  also  extend  around 
them.  In  winter  the  rooms  are  lighted  by  gas  and  sup 
plied  with  furnace  heat.  The  same  general  description 
applies  to  all  the  recitation  rooms  of  college,  though 
those  devoted  to  the  upper  classes,  except  in  the  fact 
of  having  the  floor  covered  with  hemp  matting,  are  not 
as  good  as  those  held  by  the  Freshmen  since  the  re 
modeling  of  the  Athenaeum  in  1870.  In  '69's  time  the 
freshman  rooms  were  the  poorest  of  all,  being  badly 
ventilated  and  heated  with  cylinder  coal-stoves.  Then, 
too,  the  arm-rests  or  writing-boards,  attached  to  the 
benches  for  the  benefit  of  each  sitter,  were  quite 
a  novelty,  though  now  supplied  to  almost  all  the 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  55  r 

recitation  rooms  of  college.  In  the  upper  classes, 
where  the  officer  is  familiar  with  the  names  and 
faces  of  the  men,  the  alphabetical  arrangement  is 
not  so  closely  insisted  upon,  and  the  "corner  seats" 
of  the  benches  are  taken  by  the  first  who  arrived. 
Once  in  a  while,  when  by  this  means  a  division  has 
become  very  much  disarranged,  the  regular  order  of 
sittings  is  enforced  again,  to  be  followed  in  due  season 
by  another  relapse.  All  this  depends  much  upon  the 
temper  of  the  officer  in  charge.  Some  insist  upon  a 
uniform  order  of  sittings  to  the  very  last.  But  in  gen 
eral,  though  the  rule  is  always  theoretically  regarded,  it 
is  enforced  less  and  less  rigidly  as  the  course  advances. 
The  recitations  are  held  daily — the  first  immediately 
after  prayers  in  the  morning,  the  second  at  half-past 
eleven,  and  the  third  at  5  in  the  afternoon — except  on 
Wednesday  and  Saturday,  when  the  latter  is  omitted. 
Each  is  an  hour  in  length,  and  as  there  are  35  or  40  in 
a  division  (in  senior  year,  when  the  four  divisions  be 
come  two,  there  are  50  or  more  in  each),  of  course  less 
than  half  can  be  individually  called  upon,  each  time. 
In  all  the  classes,  therefore,  most  of  the  officers  call  up 
their  men,  by  lot, — drawing  their  names,  hap-hazard, 
from  a  box  which  contains  them, — and  so  making  each 
individual  liable  to  be  examined  on  every  day's  lesson. 
For  the  early  part  of  the  first  freshman  term,  however, 
the  officers  usually  call  upon  the  names  in  their  order 
that  they  may  the  sooner  become  acquainted  with  the 
abilities  as  well  as  faces  of  the  different  members  of  the 
class.  For  the  latter  purpose,  also,  the  roll  is  called  at 
the  beginning  or  end  of  the  recitation.  This  likewise 
happens  in  after  years  whenever  new  officers  take  charge 
of  the  class.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  faces  are  con 
nected  with  the  names  by  an  officer,  he  notes  the 
absences  by  glancing  about  the  room  at  the  close  of  the 


55 2  FOUR'  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

recitation  or  before,  and  marks  them  in  his  book.  It  is 
chiefly  to  expediate  this  process  that  the  alphabetical  or 
some  other  settled  order  of  sittings  is  required.  In 
senior  year,  as  the  divisions  are  very  large,  the  roll  call 
is  oftener  resorted  to  than  the  marking  at  sight.  The 
names  of  those  who  have  not  recited  are  the  only  ones 
called.  Each  recitation  save  the  morning  one  is  an 
nounced  by  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  which  continues  two 
or  three  minutes,  at  the  end  of  which  time  every  one  is 
expected  to  be  in  his  seat.  The  officers  unlock  the 
rooms  and  take  their  places  in  them  a  few  minutes 
beforehand,  but  no  students  enter  until  the  ringing 
begins,  though  crowds  of  them  may  have  assembled 
about  the  entrance  of  the  building.  The  latter  practice 
is  most  noticeable  in  the  Freshmen,  who  gather  about 
the  Athenaeum  steps  five  or  ten  minutes  in  advance  of 
time.  It  is  less  common  among  the  Sophomores,  still 
less  among  the  Juniors,  and  a  Senior  rarely  leaves  his 
room  for  recitation  until  urged  by  the  sound  of  the  bell. 
In  a  Latin  or  Greek  recitation  one  may  be  asked  to 
read  or  scan  a  short  passage,  another  to  translate  it,  a 
third  to  answer  questions  as  to  its  construction,  and  so 
on  ;  or  all  this  and  more  may  be  required  of  the  same 
individual.  The  reciter  is  expected  simply  to  answer 
the  questions  which  are  put  to  him,  but  not  to  ask  any 
of  his  instructor,  or  dispute  his  assertions.  If  he  has 
any  enquiries  to  make,  or  controversy  to  carry  on,  it 
must  be  done  informally,  after  the  division  has  been  dis 
missed.  Sometimes,  when  a  wrong  translation  is  made 
or  a  wrong  answer  given,  the  instructor  corrects  it  forth 
with,  but  more  frequently  he  makes  no  sign,  though  if 
the  failure  be  almost  complete  he  may  call  upon  another 
to  go  over  the  ground  again.  Perhaps  after  the  lesson 
has  been  recited  the  instructor  may  translate  it,  com 
ment  upon  it,  point  out  the  mistakes  which  have  been 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  553 

made,  and  so  on.     The  "  advance  "  of  one  day  is  always 
the  "  review  "  of  the  next,  and  a  more  perfect  recitation 
is  always  expected  on  the  second  occasion  ; — a  remark 
which  is  not  confined  to   the   languages   but   applies 
equally  well  to  all  the  studies  of  the  course.     In  '69*5 
time,  many  or  most  used  to  interline  their  text  books 
with  notes,  hints  and  translations,  brought  out  by  the 
advance  lesson,  and  put  them  to  good  service  in  the 
daily  and  term  reviews  ;  and  text  books,  specially  inter 
leaved  with  blank  pages  for  taking  notes,  were  quite 
common,  but  latterly  these  practices  have  been  put  an 
end  to.     In  construing  a  sentence,  one  is  only  required 
to  refer  to  general  grammatical  principles,  and  is  not 
obliged  to  repeat  the  rules  at  length.    Distinct  grammar 
lessons — especially   in    Greek — have   to   be  given  out 
through  a  large  part  of  freshman  year,  and  sometimes 
even  later.     These  are  generally  recited  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  recitation.     Andrews  &  Stoddard  in  Latin, 
and  Hadley  in  Greek,  are  the  recognized  grammatical 
authorities,  though  at  the  entrance  examination  no  ques 
tion  is  raised  as  to  the  grammars  previously  employed, 
and  none  are  named  in  the  official  catalogue.     In  read 
ing  Greek,  too,  students  accustomed  to  the   "  English  " 
method  of  pronunciation  are   not  obliged  to  adopt  the 
"  Continental,"  which  is  the  mode  employed  by  all  the 
instructors,  and  most  of  their  pupils.     It  may  be  here 
noted  that  the    "  English  "    pronunciation  formerly  in 
vogue  is  still  retained  by  every  one  in  the  case  of  the 
society  names.     Thus,  phi,  psi,  xi,  in  such  instances,  are- 
pronounced  fi,  si,  zi,   and   not  fee,  see,  zee,   as  in  other 
situations.     In    the    pronunciation    of  the    sophomore- 
society  names,    the  two  systems  are  curiously    mixed. 
Thus  "  Delta  Beta  Xi,"  which  should  be  called  either 
bayter  zee  or  beeter  zi,  is  called  bayter  zi ;    and   "  Phi 
Theta  Psi,  instead  of  being/?*  thayter  see  or  fi  thceter  si, 

25 


554  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

is  pronounced  fi  thayter  si.  In  reciting  geometry,  one 
may  be  called  on  to  give  the  caption  of  a  particular 
proposition,  another  to  draw  the  figure,  a  third  to  prove 
it,  and  a  fourth  to  explain  the  corollaries  ;  or  the  whole 
may  be  allotted  to  one  only.  The  captions  are  recited 
again  and  again  by  various  members  of  the  division,  to 
take  up  the  time  needed  by  others  in  drawing  the  figures. 
As  soon  as  a  figure  is  completed,  the  one  who  drew  it 
retires  to  his  seat,  and  he  or  another  is  shortly  after 
wards  called  upon  for  the  demonstration,  at  the  outset 
of  which  the  caption  is  again  repeated.  At  a  particular 
point,  the  one  reciting  may  be  relieved  from  duty,  and 
another  be  requested  to  continue  the  demonstration  to 
the  end.  Every  "  reference,"  on  which  a  step  in  the 
process  depends,  is  expected  to  be  recited  by  number, 
and  if  not  given  will  be  called  for  by  the  instructor  at 
the  close  of  the  demonstration.  In  '69*3  time  all  books 
brought  into  the  room  had  to  be  placed  on  the  officer's 
table,  before  the  recitation  commenced,  but  now  they 
must  be  left  outside  the  room  altogether.  "  Optional 
work,"  for  which  "  extra  credit  "  is  allowed,  is  the  prep 
aration  of  "  original  demonstrations,"  written  copies  of 
which  are  handed  in  to  the  instructor,  who  inspects  them 
at  his  leisure.  Many  algebraic  problems  are  also  given 
out  as  "  optionals  "  by  the  instructor  in  that  science. 
"  Blackboard  work  "  is  naturally  the  most  prominent 
feature  of  his  recitations. 

After  "advancing"  for  about  three-fourths  of  the 
term,  the  "review"  is  begun  in  all  the  studies,  in  prep 
aration  for  the  term  examinations.  This  does  not  always 
cover  the  whole  ground  of  the  "advance,"  but  as  the 
examination  is  held  upon  all,  cramming  is  usually  re 
sorted  to,  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  About  a  week's 
interval  elapses  between  the  last  recitation  and  the  last 
examination,  with  which  the  term  comes  to  an  end.  For 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  555 

purposes  of  examination  each  division  is  cut  into  sub 
divisions  of  a  dozen  individuals,  and  each  instructor 
attends  to  three  or  four  "  subs  "  daily,  but  matters  are 
so  arranged  that  each  "sub"  has  an  interval  of  about 
two  days  between  each  of  its  examinations,  and  that  the 
last  of  them  is  held  before  its  own  division-master.  In 
the  first  term,  the  first  "  subs  "  of  all  the  divisions  are 
released  soonest ;  in  the  second  term  the  second,  and 
the  first  subs  the  latest  ;  in  the  third  term,  there  are  no 
term  examinations.  The  last  examinations  are  held  on 
Tuesday  morning,  with  which  day  the  term  officially 
closes  ;  but  two  subs  of  each  division  finish  their  last 
examinations  at  two  different  hours  the  day  before,  and 
forthwith  disperse  to  their  homes.  The  examinations  are 
held  in  the  usual  recitation  rooms,  and  at  the  appointed 
hour  the  sub-division  enter  and  take  seats  upon  the  rear 
bench.  Each  one  is  twice  called  upon,  and  the  same 
order  is  usually  observed  on  the  second  round  as  on  the 
first,  whether  this  be  decided  by  the  alphabet  or  arbi 
trarily.  The  questions  are  written  upon  slips  of  paper, 
no  two  of  which  are  alike,  and  are  distributed  by  the 
officer,  or  drawn  hap-hazard  from  his  hands.  The  first 
one  who  takes  a  paper  is  allowed  a  reasonable  time,  say 
five  or  ten  minutes,  to  "  think  up  "  on  it  before  reciting. 
Meanwhile  a  second  has  drawn  a  paper,  and  as  the  first 
signifies  his  readiness  to  recite,  a  third  paper  is  given 
out.  Thenceforth  as  each  finishes  with  his  paper,  an 
other  person  draws  one,  and  so  each  is  allowed  to  cram 
during  the  time  occupied  by  two  others  in  reciting.  In 
the  interval  between  drawing  the  paper  and  reciting  it 
each  person  sits  upon  the  front  bench,  out  of  the  reach 
of  anyone  else.  Sometimes,  all  the  members  of  a  sub 
division  are  seated  at  a]  distance  from  each  other  and 
supplied  with  papers  at  the  outset.  As  soon  as  one  is 
ready  to  recite,  he  hands  in  his  paper,  and  the  recita- 


S56  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tions  are  heard  in  the  order  in  which  the  papers  are 
handed  in.  The  second  paper  is  given  to  each  one  as 
he  finishes  with  his  first,  but  it  cannot  be  attended  to 
until  every  one  else's  first  paper  has  been  recited,  no 
matter  how  soon  it  be  handed  in.  Each  one's  examin 
ation  concludes  with  the  recitation  of  his  second  paper. 
Thus  the  first  man  is  usually  released  in  about  an  hour's 
time,  and  others  keep  following  him  at  short  intervals 
until  the  close  of  the  second  hour,  when  the  last  finishes 
his  work.  If  a  paper  is  flunked,  a  second  or  even  third 
may  be  drawn,  but  a  recitation  on  these  substitute 
papers  counts  for  much  less  than  if  made  on  the  original 
ones.  No  books  of  any  sort  can  be  brought  into  the 
room.  Where  any  are  required,  as  in  translating  the 
languages,  the  instructor  supplies  them.  With  the  pa 
per — on  which  is  indicated  the  passage  to  be  translated, 
grammatical  questions,  etc. — he  hands  a  text-book,  the 
printed  "  notes  "  of  which  have  been  sealed  up,  and  the 
penciled  additions,  if  any,  erased.  In  the  examination 
in  geometry,  the  paper  contains  simply  the  number  of 
the  proposition  to  be  proved.  The  one  who  is  exam 
ined  must  draw  the  figure  and  give  the  caption,  unas 
sisted.  In  all  departments,  the  examiner  consults  his 
own  judgment  in  the  asking  of  general  questions,  not 
indicated  upon  the  paper.  Those  who  fail  upon  exami 
nation  are  conditioned,  unless  their  "  term-stand "  in 
the  study  is  high  enough  to  counterbalance  the  low 
examination  mark.  Conditions  have  to  be  made  up  at 
the  opening  of  the  following  term. 

At  the  close  of  the  third  term,  is  held  the  "Annual " 
examination,  on  all  the  studies  of  the  year.  This  gen 
erally  comprises  four  sessions,  covering  a  period  of  about 
ten  days,  and  ending  on  the  Thursday  or  Friday  before 
Commencement.  The  senior  Annual,  which  has  hith 
erto  ended  on  the  Friday  before  Presentation,  will 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  557 

henceforth  be  no  exception  to  this  rule.  The  last  session 
of  every  Annual  is  a  forenoon  one,  ending  at  twelve 
o'clock.  Nine  in  the  morning  and  three  in  the  after 
noon  are  the  hours  of  assembling  at  Alumni  Hall,  where 
all  the  Annuals  are  held.  An  entire  class  go  in  together, 
and  are  seated  alphabetically  at  the  little  octagonal 
tables,  no  two  of  which  are  placed  within  eight  feet  of 
each  other.  An  ink-bottle,  fixed  in  a  square  standard 
of  cork,  a  blotter,  and  a  dozen  or  twenty  half-sheets  of 
quarto  post,  lie  upon  every  table.  Pen  and  penholder 
each  man  brings  for  himself.  The  students  being  seated, 
the  entrance  door  is  closed,  and  the  officers  begin  to 
distribute  the  printed  papers,  which  are  all  alike,  and 
often  come  damp  from  the  press.  Having  completed 
the  distribution,  they  take  their  seats  on  small  raised 
platforms,  situated  close  beside  the  walls  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  apartment.  There  are  four  of  these  watch- 
ing-places  for  overlooking  the  hall,  and  if  more  than 
that  number  of  the  faculty  be  present,  which  is  not 
often,  they  spend  the  time  in  passing  about  from  one  to 
the  other  of  them.  The  students  meantime  have  care 
fully  read  through  the  paper,  and  begun  to  write  out 
the  answers  to  it,  using  only  one  side  of  the  sheets,  num 
bering  them  in  order,  and  putting  their  names  at  the 
head  of  each  one.  Upon  a  mathematical  paper,  the 
figure,  as  well  as  the  caption  or  statement  of  the  thing 
to  be  proved,  is  always  supplied  ;  and  upon  a  paper  in 
the  languages,  all  the  passages  from  the  text  which  are 
to  be  translated  are  printed  in  full,  so  that  no  text-books 
are  required.  Occasionally,  a  perplexed  student  walks 
up  to  an  officer,  to  enquire  if  there  is  not  a  misprint  or 
ambiguity  in  the  paper,  in  hopes  of  gaining  a  few  "  use 
ful  hints  "  ;  or  an  industrious  one  asks  for  more  paper  ; 
or  a  thirsty  one  goes  up  to  the  water  jug  for  a  drink ; 
but  except  this  the  monotonous  scratching  of  pens  is 


558  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

the  only  sound  heard  for  the  space  of  two  hours.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  the  senior  officer  rises  to  announce 
that  "  in  fifteen  minutes  more,  papers  may  be  handed 
in,  and  in  an  hour  more,  papers  must  be  handed  in." 
In  fifteen  minutes,  after  telling  the  time  of  the  next 
examination  and  making  any  other  general  announce 
ments,  he  gives  notice  that  "papers  may  now  be  handed 
in."  Forthwith  a  few — who  have  floored  their  papers, 
or  been  floored  by  them — hand  in  their  work  to  the 
proper  officer,  and  hasten  from  the  hall,  and  their  ex 
ample  is  continuously  followed  by  stragglers  to  the  very 
end  of  the  session.  Five  minutes  before  its  close,  notice 
is  given  that  all  writing  must  cease  at  the  stroke  of  the 
clock.  Even  then,  after  three  hours'  writing,  many  com 
plain  of  want  of  time,  but  all  hand  in  their  work,  and 
rush  forth  to  compare  notes  with  others  as  to  what  they 
have  accomplished.  tf  How  'd  ye  get  through  ?"  is  the 
ordinary  salutation  for  the  next  half-day  ;  and  then  the 
past  examination  becomes  an  old  story,  and  cramming 
is  begun  for  the  next  one.  The  result  of  a  man's  failure 
on  "Annual,"  unless  his  "general  stand"  makes  up  for 
it,  is  that  he  is  conditioned  on  one  or  more  of  the  third 
term's  studies  ;  or  suspended  for  a  term  and  obliged  to 
pass  a  new  examination  on  all  the  studies  of  the  year  ; 
or  dropped  altogether.  A  condition  on  Annual  must 
be  made  up  at  the  first  trial,  if  at  all. 

The  class  of  '69,  during  all  the  first  term  of  freshman 
year,  pursued  the  study  of  the  four  works  of  which  men 
tion  was  made  in  an  earlier  part  of  the  chapter.  In  the 
Odyssey,  beginning  at  the  seventh  book,  850  lines  were 
read,  —  about  20  lines  being  the  ordinary  lesson. 
Owen's  was  the  authorized  edition,  though  the  student, 
in  this  as  in  every  similar  case,  could  use  any  other  text 
he  might  prefer.  In  Livy  (Lincoln's)  parts  of  the  first 
two  books,  32  pages,  were  read, — the  ordinary  lesson 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  559 

being  from  a  half  page  to  a  page  in  length.     In  Euclid 
(Playfair's),  the  first  five  books,   with  a  very  few  omis 
sions,  were  recited, — in  lessons  of  two  pages  each,  after 
the  first  two  books,  with  which  the  student  was  supposed 
to  be  familiar  when  he  entered,  has  been  more  rapidly 
gone  over.      In  Algebra  (Day's),  eight  sections  were 
recited,  beginning  on  page  107  with  "simple  equations 
containing  two  or  more  unknown  quantities,"  and  ending 
on  page  289  with  the   "  involution  of  binomials."     The 
second  term,  575  lines  more  of  the  Odyssey  were  read, 
extending  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  ninth  book,  and  in 
Herodotus   (Teubner's),   about  25  sections,  beginning 
with  the  tenth  of  the  third  book,  and  reading  a  page  at  a 
time.     In  Latin  was  read  the  tenth  book  of  Quintilian's 
Institutions  (Frieze's),  45  pages  in  all,  a  page  and  a  half 
or  two  pages  at  a  time.     Euclid  was  completed  by  read 
ing   the   sixth   book  and  the   three   supplements,    116 
pages  in  all.     In  place  of  Algebra,  was  recited  Arnold's 
Latin  Prose  Composition  (Spencer's),  as  far  as  "Com 
parison," —  comprising  the  first   18  chapters  and   140 
pages.      The   third    term,    Herodotus   was    continued 
through  1 8  sections  (n  pages),  and  the  Panegyricus  of 
Isocrates  was  read  to  the  extent  of  18  pages.     In  Latin, 
the  greater  part  of  the  odes  and  eposes  of  Horace  (Lin 
coln's)  was  read.      Euclid  was  superseded  by  Spherics 
(Stanley's),  with  its  40  propositions,  and  Algebra  was 
again  taken  up  and  completed  (5  sections,  100  pages). 
Instead  of  the  Latin,  Arnold's  Greek  Prose  Composition 
(Spencer's)  was  recited  as  far  as  "  Comparison"  (28  sec 
tions,  60  pages).     On  the  Saturday  noons  of  this  term, 
in  place  of  the  regular  recitations,  the  class   attended 
one  or  two  lectures  delivered  in  Alumni  Hall  by  the 
professor  of  Rhetoric,  and  also  wrote  ex-tempore  com 
positions  there  at  his  direction  ;  but  afterwards  the  com 
positions,  on  subjects  previously  announced,  were  read 


So  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

in  the  division  rooms.  About  a  third  of  each  division 
were  required  to  write  each  week,  and  those  who  were 
not  called  upon  to  read  their  productions  were  expected 
to  hand  them  in  to  the  officer  at  the  close  of  the  session. 
Choice  could  be  made  from  several  subjects,  which  Were 
of  various  kinds — historical,  political,  literary,  social — 
and  were  supposed  to  be  devised  by  the  professor  of 
Rhetoric.  On  a  particular  topic  a  descriptive  piece  was 
required  to  be  written  ;  on  another,  an  argumentative  ; 
and  so  on.  Subjects  connected  with  college  life  were 
rarely  offered.  On  the  Wednesday  noons  of  the  term, 
an  exercise  in  ex-tempore  Latin  composition  was  con 
ducted  in  Alumni  Hall,  under  the  charge  of  the  profes 
sor  of  Latin.  It  resembled  an  examination,  and  under 
certain  conditions  a  person  could  leave  the  hall  as  soon 
as  he  had  written  out  his  papers.  During  the  first  year, 
all  the  studies  were  recited  to  tutors,  except  that  for 
the  first  term  a  professor  had  charge  of  the  Greek. 

Sophomore  year,  the  first  term,  Isocrates  was  contin 
ued  through  22  pages,  and  the  first  two  Olynthiacs  of 
Demosthenes  (Champlin's)  were  read, — 20  pages  more. 
In  Latin,  Horace  was  completed,  by  the  reading  of  most 
of  his  satires  and  letters,  at  the  rate  of  50  lines  a  day. 
In  mathematics, — after  a  review  of  the  latter  part  of 
Algebra,  of  which  the  Annual  had  shown  the  class  to 
know  nothing,  and  the  study  of  an  8-page  pamphlet  on 
the  Metric  System, — the  first  three  books,  80  pages,  of 
Trigonometry  (Loomis's)  were  recited.  In  Greek  trag 
edy,  the  CEdipus  Tyrannus  of  Sophocles  (Crosby's)  was 
read,  with  a  single  omission  of  100  lines.  The  second 
term,  came  the  third  Olynthiac  and  first  Philippic  of 
Demosthenes,  28  pages,  followed  by  Conic  Sections 
(Loomis's),  46  pages ;  in  Latin,  Old  Age  and  minor  let 
ters  of  Cicero  (Harper's),  40  pages  ;  in  mathematics, 
Algebraic  Geometry  (Puckle's),  150  pages  ;  and  in  Greek 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  561 

tragedy,  the  Agamemnon  of  yEschylus  (Felton's),  with 
omissions  amounting  to  200  lines.  The  third  term,  the 
only  Greek  were  the  idyls  of  Theocritus  (Teubner's) ; 
and  the  only  Latin  the  satires  of  Juvenal  (Teubner's), 
from  which  selections  were  read  at  the  rate  of  30  or  40 
lines  a  day.  The  last  three  books  of  Trigonometry, 
including  those  on  Surveying  and  Navigation  were 
recited  ;  and  the  first  three  of  Rhetoric  (Whately's),  240 
pages.  A  professor  conducted  the  latter  recitation,  and 
another  one  the  mathematical  recitations  of  the  first 
two  terms.  The  other  instructors  of  the  year  were 
tutors,  of  whom  only  one  was  connected  with  the  instruc 
tion  of  the  class  the  year  before.  He  was  the  tutor 
in  Latin,  and  master  of  the  second  division,  for  the 
whole  of  freshman  and  sophomore  years, — an  unusually 
long  time  for  a  college  officer  to  be  connected  with  a 
single  class.  During  all  the  year,  the  reading  of  com 
positions  in  the  various  division  rooms  took  the  place 
of  the  noon  recitation  on  Saturday, — each  person  fur 
nishing  four  compositions  a  term.  During  all  the  year 
also,  the  same  recitation  on  Wednesday  was  but  a  half 
hour  in  length,  and  from  twelve  to  one  o'clock  the 
entire  class  attended  declamations  in  the  Chapel, — each 
person  "  speaking"  twice  a  term.  The  pieces  had  to  be 
rehearsed  in  private  before  the  instructor  in  Elocution, 
who  also  delivered  a  series  of  lectures,  in  place  of  the 
Monday  morning  recitations  of  the  first  term,  and  held 
a  series  of  division-room  drills  or  speaking  exercises,  in 
place  of  the  mathematical  recitations  which  were  sus 
pended  in  the  second  term,  for  a  week  or  two. 

Junior  year,  the  first  term,  Plato's  Apology  and  Crito 
(Tyler's),  56  pages,  and  10  pages  of  his  Gorgias  (Teub 
ner's),  were  read.  In  Natural  Philosophy  (Snell'sOlm- 
sted's),  the  first  three  parts,  240  pages,  were  recited. 
The  third  study  was  English  Literature  and  Language 

25* 


$62  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

(Craik's),  a  book  of  550  pages.     The  second  term,  the 
Germania  and  Agricola  of  Tacitus  (Tyler's),  was  read, 
56    pages;    Natural    Philosophy    was    completed,    210 
pages;  and  the  German  Grammar  (Otto's)  was  recited, 
250  pages,  besides  reading-lessons  in  the  Lebensbilder. 
The  third  term,  was  read  the  last  Greek  of  the  course, 
Demosthenes's  Oration  on  the  Crown  (Champlin's),  100 
pages,  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three   a  day.      Astronomy 
(Loomis's)  was  recited  to  the  extent  of  n  chapters,  170 
pages.     The  third  recitation  was  Logic  (Atwater's),  220 
pages  ;  and,  afterwards,  Chemical  Philosophy  (Cooke's), 
10  chapters,  70  pages.     Instead  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
of  the  first  two  terms,  sixteen  or  twenty  took  the  option 
of  studying  Calculus    (Church's).      All  the  recitations 
save   Natural   Philosophy,  Logic    and    the  first   term's 
Greek   were    conducted    by   professors.      Exercises    in 
turning  English  into  Latin   prose   were   connected  with 
the  recitations  in  the  latter  language, — according  to  the 
same  system  employed  at  Alumni  Hall,  the  third  term 
of  freshman  year.      Ex-tempore  speeches  were  some 
times  called  for  by  the  professor  of  Rhetoric  at  the  reci 
tations  in  English  Literature.     He  also  delivered  a  short 
course  of  lectures.      During  the  second   term,  two  lec 
tures  a  week  were  delivered  on  Natural  Philosophy  ;  and 
during  the  third  term,  16   lectures   on  Greek  History. 
A  few  informal  lectures  on  Optics  were  also  delivered 
then, — the  attendance  being  voluntary.     On  Wednesday 
and  Saturday   noons  of  the   first   two  terms,  "  forensic 
disputations"  were  read.     These  differed  from  the  "  com 
positions"   of   the  year  before  chiefly   in  this,  that  the 
writers  were  allowed  to  choose  their  own  subject,  though 
it  had  to  be  approved  by  the  division  officers,  before  it 
could  be  discussed.     The  disputations  of  any  one  sub 
division  were  hence  all  in  regard  to  a  single  topic,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  reading  the  officer  usually  discussed 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  563 

and  criticized  the  arguments  that  had  been  presented, 
and  offered  his  own  ideas  upon  the  question.  Similar 
remarks  were  sometimes  made  at  the  reading  of  sopho 
more  compositions, — the  usage  greatly  varying  with 
individual  instructors.  As  a  rule,  each  division  read  its 
compositions  and  disputes  before  its  own  division- 
master. 

Senior  year,  the  studies  were,  in  the  first  term  :  (i) 
Political  Economy  (Perry's),  and  the  beginning  of  Civil 
Liberty  (Lieber's),  with  four  lectures  a  week  on  the  Law 
of  Right.  (2)  Chemical  Philosophy  (Cooke's)  reviewed, 
and  Chemistry  (Roscoe's)  with  four  lectures  a  week ; 
followed  by  the  Human  Intellect  or  Psychology  (Por 
ter's).  (3)  Astronomy,  completed.  (4)  Cicero's  Oration 
for  Cluentius  (Stickney's)  107  pages.  In  place  of  either 
one  of  the  two  latter  branches,  those  who  chose — about 
half  the  class — continued  the  study  of  German,  reading 
80  pages  of  Goethe.  In  the  Latin  and  German  of  this 
term,  the  professors  read  out  and  explained  the  lessons, 
from  day  to  day,  and  once  in  two  or  three  weeks  held 
examinations  on  what  had  been  gone  over.  The  term 
examinations  in  the  two  languages  were  like  the  Annual, 
— conducted  entirely  in  writing,  from  a  single  printed 
paper.  In  the  second  term,  the  studies  were :  (i)  Civil 
Liberty  completed  and  International  Law  (Woolsey's) 
begun.  (2)  Human  Intellect,  Stewart's  Active  and 
Moral  Powers  (Walker's),  and  Law  of  Love  (Hopkins's), 
with  two  lectures  a  week  on  Moral  Philosophy.  (3) 
European  History  (Weber's),  1517  to  1717,  and  Euro 
pean  Civilization  (Guizot's),  first  nine  chapters,  with 
three  or  four  lectures  a  week.  (4)  Geology  (Dana's), 
for  the  last  third  of  the  term.  A  course  of  twenty  lec 
tures  on  Anatomy  and  Physiology  was  also  delivered  at 
the  Medical  College,  and  a  series  on  Botany  begun. 
Including  the  two  which  the  class  was  advised,  though 


564  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

not  required,  to  read  in  connection  with  these  lectures, 
ten  different  text-books  were  in  use  this  term.  In  the 
third  and  last  term  the  studies  were  :  (i)  International 
Law,  with  14  lectures  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  (2)  Natural  Theology  (Chadbourne's),  with  12 
lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  (3)  Euro 
pean  Civilization,  completed.  (4)  Geology,  completed 
to  the  end  of  Part  III.,  with  occasional  lectures.  A 
course  of  10  lectures  on  Roman  law  was  also  delivered, 
and  the  series  on  Botany  concluded.  In  all,  a  dozen 
different  professors  had  to  do  with  the  class  during  the 
year,  including  the  president,  whose  work  is  in  each 
case  mentioned  first.  Four  only  of  the  twelve  had  pre 
viously — in  junior  year — given  instruction  to  the  class. 
Each  person  had  to  "  write  "  twice  during  each  of  the 
first  two  terms  :  once  on  a  question  chosen  from  a  list 
offered  by  the  instructor,  when  his  production  was 
termed  a  "  composition  "  ;  and  once  on  a  question  agreed 
upon  in  connection  with  the  rest  of  his  sub-division, 
when  his  production  was  called  a  "  dispute."  None  but 
the  members  of  a  single  "sub  "  were  required  to  attend 
the  reading,  and  each  person  was  allowed  to  withdraw 
therefrom  as  soon  as  his  own  production  had  been 
recited.  The  lectures  were  usually  delivered  at  the 
regular  recitation  hours  of  the  college — after  prayers 
and  at  half-past  eleven  in  the  morning,  and  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon, — and  w:ere  an  hour  in  length, 
like  the  recitations  which  they  superseded.  The  medical 
lectures,  however,  were  delivered  from  three  till  four  in 
the  afternoon,  and  were  an  addition  to  the  three  regular 
recitations  or  lectures  of  the  day.  No  examinations 
were  held  upon  them,  nor  upon  the  examinations  in 
Botany  and  Roman  Law.  Upon  the  others,  questions 
were  asked  at  the  recitations  following,  as  well  as  at 
the  term  and  Annual  examinations.  The  second  recita- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  565 

tion  or  lecture  of  the  day  often  began  at  noon  instead 
of  at  half-past  eleven.  The  German  recitation  was 
always  held  in  the  forenoon,  beginning  at  half-past  ten 
o'clock,  and  the  same  fact  held  good  in  regard  to  the 
Calculus  recitation  in  junior  year.  Both,  being  "op 
tional  studies,"  required  separate  hours  of  their  own  to 
prevent  interference  with  the  regular  recitations. 

This  sketch  of  the  ground  gone  over  by  the  class  of '69 
of  course  represents  with  essential  correctness  the  or 
dinary  scheme  of  study  marked  out  for  every  other  class. 
But  no  two  successive  classes  ever  use  exactly  the  same 
text-books  throughout  the  course,  and  so  it  may  be  well 
to  notice  some  of  the  ordinary  variations  from,  as  well 
as  recent  changes  in,  the  programme  that  has  been  pre 
sented.  Livy  was  the  Latin  author  usually  read  in  the 
second  term  freshman,  in  place  of  Quintilian  which  from 
'69  onwards  has  superseded  it.  Liddell's  History  of 
Rome  is  also  sometimes  studied  during  that  year.  In 
the  third  term  of  '68,  Lucian  was  read  instead  of 
Isocrates.  Now,  in  place  of  it,  French  Inflection  is 
begun,  and  an  amount  of  text  corresponding  to  one 
book  of  Fenelon's  Telemaque  is  read.  Loomis's  Conic 
Sections  are  studied  then,  instead  of  in  second  term 
sophomore,  and  his  Algebra  takes  the  place  of  Day's. 
Chauvenet's  Geometry  also  partly  supersedes  Euclid,  and 
Stanley's  Spherics  are  transferred  to  first  term  sopho 
more.  In  this  later  term,  in  place  of  Greek  tragedy,  the 
study  of  French  is  continued.  The  Electra  of  Sophocles 
or  the  Alcestis  of  Euripides  were  the  Greek  texts  read 
by  some  previous  classes.  In  the  second  term's  Greek, 
the  Prometheus  of  ^Eschylus  is  oftener  read  than  his 
Agamemnon,  and  Xenophon's  Memorabilia  or  Isocratcs's 
Panegyricus  sometimes  supersedes  Demosthenes's  ora 
tions.  Davies's  Analytical  Geometry  is  the  mathemati 
cal  text-book  of  this  term,  as  Loomis's  was  formerly. 


566  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

No  class  save  '69  was  ever  drilled  in  "  Puckle."  For 
Latin,  Cicero's  de  Officiis  sometimes  takes  the  place  of 
Senectute.  In  the  third  term,  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles 
is  oftener  read  than  Theocritus.  The  Greek  of  the  first 
term  junior  may  be  Plato's  Gorgias  or  Arrain's  Anabasis  ; 
and  of  the  third  term,  Thucydides  instead  of  Demos 
thenes.  Cicero's  Tusculan  Disputations,  de  Oratore, 
de  Natura  Deorum,  pro  Cluentio,  Seneca's  Medea,  or 
Plautus's  Captives  were  formerly  read  in  Junior  year, 
when  no  Latin  was  required  in  the  year  following. 
Similar  changes,  temporary  or  permanent,  are  all  the 
while  being  made,  yet  the  substance  of  the  curriculum 
remains  about  the  same,  in  spite  of  the  alterations  in 
form.  The  most  radical  innovation  that  has  been  noted 
is  the  substitution  of  two  terms  of  French  for  a  like 
quantity  of  Greek  and  Latin  ;  and  in  addition  to  the 
one. term  of  German  required,  two  terms  may  be  chosen 
in  place  of  Greek  or  Latin.  An  additional  fee  is  re 
quired  of  those  choosing  the  modern  languages,  though 
instruction  in  Hebrew  is  given  without  extra  charge. 
As  for  the  constant  variations  in  the  classics,  one  object 
of  making  them  seems  to  be  to  prevent  successive 
generations  of 'students  from  taking  advantage  of  the 
notes  and  interlineations  of  their  predecessors  ;  another 
object  evidently  is  to  keep  up  the  interest  of  the  instruc 
tor  in  his  work,  by  allowing  him  a  certain  freedom  in 
the  selection  of  authors  and  passages  which  have  to  him 
a  special  attraction.  It  should  have  been  said  that  the 
"figures"  required  to  illustrate  Natural  Philosophy  and 
Astronomy,  are  drawn  off  upon  large  pasteboard  squares, 
which  are  kept  ready  in  the  recitation  rooms.  The 
figures  are  numbered  and  lettered  as  in  the  book,  and 
the  man  who  is  called  on  for  a  demonstration,  instead  of 
drawing  the  figure  himself  at  once  selects  and  hangs  up 
the  card  containing  it,  and  recites  it  therefrom.  The 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  567 

"  course  of  instruction  "  marked  out  in  the  official  cata 
logue  is  intended  chiefly  as  a  general  guide  to  applicants 
for  advanced  standing,  and  not  as  an  exact  list  of  the 
special  text  books  employed.  Indeed,  several  of  those 
mentioned  there  are  never  really  used  at  all  in  college. 
The  scheme  of  study  a  century  ago  was  thus  described 
by  President  Clap :  "  In  the  first  year  they  learn  He 
brew,  and  principally  pursue  the  study  of  the  languages, 
and  make  a  beginning  in  Logic,  and  some  parts  of  the 
mathematics.  In  the  second  year,  they  study  the  lan 
guages,  but  principally  recite  Logic,  Rhetoric,  Oratory, 
Geography  and  Natural  Philosophy ;  and  some  of  them 
make  good  proficiency  in  Trigonometry  and  Algebra. 
In  the  third  year,  they  still  pursue  the  study  of  Natural 
Philosophy,  and  most  branches  of  the  mathematics. 
Many  of  them  well  understand  Surveying,  Navigation 
and  the  calculation  of  the  eclipses  ;  and  some  of  them 
are  considerable  proficients  in  Conic  Sections  and 
Fluxions.  In  the  fourth  year,  they  principally  study  and 
recite  Metaphysics,  Ethics  and  Divinity.  In  reciting 
any  book  the  tutor  asks  them  questions  upon  all  the 
principal  points  and  propositions  in  it ;  and  they  give 
such  answers  as  show  whether  they  understand  it ;  and 
the  tutor  explains  it,  as  far  as  there  is  occasion.  In  all 
delineations  and  calculations,  a  select  number,  with 
proper  instruments  in  their  hands,  are  instructed  at  a 
table.  The  two  upper  classes  exercise  their  powers  in 
disputing  every  Monday  in  the  syllogistic  form,  and 
every  Tuesday  in  the  forensic.  When  they  have  alter 
nately  gone  through  all  their  arguments,  the  moderator 
recapitulates  those  which  seem  to  be  the  most  plausible 
on  each  side,  shows  their  real  force  or  weakness  and 
gives  his  opinion  upon  the  whole.  Twice  a  week,  five 
or  six  deliver  a  declamation  memoriter  from  the  orator 
ical  rostrum.  The  president  makes  some  observations 


5 68  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

upon  the  manner  of  delivery  and  sometimes  upon  the 
subject,  and  sometimes  gives  some  small  laurel  to  him 
who  best  acts  the  part  of  an  orator.  These  declama 
tions  are  supervised  beforehand  by  the  tutor,  who  cor 
rects  their  orthography  and  punctuation.  There  are 
also  two  orations  made  every  Quarter-Day,  upon  exam 
inations,  and  frequently  on  special  occasions." 

For  the  twenty-five  years  ending  with  1850,  and  per 
haps  for  a  much  longer  period,  the  three  lower  classes 
were  examined  twice  a  year, — once  in  May,  at  the  middle 
of  the  second  term,  and  once  in  September,  just  before 
Commencement, — each  examination  lasting  from  four 
to  six  days,  and  being  confined  to  the  wbrk  of  a  term 
and  a  half.  The  second  examination  of  junior  year, 
however,  embraced  all  the  studies  of  the  first  three 
years,  and  those  who  passed  it  and  were  admitted  to  the 
senior  class  felt  assured  of  their  ability  to  graduate  :  for 
the  only  examination  of  the  last  year  was  held,  two 
months  before  Commencement,  on  the  studies  of  that 
year  only.  In  1850  was  introduced  the  plan  of  holding 
two  "Biennial  "  examinations,  at  the  close  of  sophomore 
and  senior  years,  in  each  case  on  the  studies  of  the  two 
years  preceding.  Special  examinations  on  the  studies 
of  the  term  were  also  held  at  the  close  of  every  term 
save  the  last  one  of  sophomore  and  senior  years.  The 
last  "  Biennial  "  was  that  of  '67,  at  the  close  of  its  soph 
omore  year,  in  July,  1865.  The  same  month,  '68  had 
its  first  Annual  ;  and  this  system  of  examinations 
having  worked  well  since  then,  bids  fair  to  be  retained 
for  an  indefinite  period  in  the  future.  For  the  first  year 
or  two  after  its  introduction,  Biennial  was  held  in  the 
attic  of  the  Chapel.  But  the  new  Alumni  Hall  was  soon 
forthcoming. 


CHAPTER    II. 
MARKS. 

Morning  Prayers — The  Ordinary  Ceremonies — Sunday  Services — • 
The  College  Church  and  Its  Members— Attending  City  Churches 
The  College  Choir  and  Organ — Government  by  Marks — Sched 
ule  of  Penalties — "  The  Course  of  Discipline" — Monitors  and 
their  Duties— Matriculation— Scholarship  by  Marks — Time  and 
Mode  of  Giving  out  Stands  —  Making-up  Omitted  Lessons- 
Excuses  and  Church  Papers  —  Leaves  of  Absence  —  Letters 
Home— Official  Hieroglyphics— Appealing  to  the  Faculty— Liv 
ing  Regulations  and  Dead  Laws— Origin  and  Growth  of  the 
Code — Discipline  in  the  Olden  Time— Fines,  "Degradation," 
and  "  Cuffing" — The  Modern  Theory  of  Discipline — The  Recent 
Experiment  in  Division. 

Prayers  are  held  every  morning  in  the  Chapel.  The 
bell  rings  for  five  minutes,  and,  after  an  interval  of 
three  minutes,  tolls  for  two  minutes  more,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  every  man  is  expected  to  be  in  his  assigned 
seat.  There  are  three  variations  in  the  time  of  ringing 
the  bell :  in  the  longest  days  of  the  year  it  begins  at 
half-past  seven  ;  as  they  grow  shorter,  it  begins  fifteen 
minutes  later  ;  and  in  the  shortest  days  of  winter  it 
begins  as  late  as  eight  o'clock.  An  hour  before  the  bell 
begins  to  call  to  prayers,  it  is  always  rung  for  the  space 
of  five  minutes, — thus  serving  as  an  eye-opener  and 
admonisher  that  breakfast  is  ready.  This  meal  must  be 
partaken  of  before  going  to  chapel, — since  immediately 
thereafter  every  class  is  obliged  to  attend  a  recitation  or 
lecture  of  an  hour's  duration, — and  hence  it  is  usually 
bolted  in  very  short  order.  Experience  soon  teaches 
the  minimum  amount  of  time  in  which  one  may  dress, 


57°  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

run  to  his  boarding-house,  swallow  a  few  morsels  of 
breakfast,  and  rush  to  his  seat  in  chapel  in  season  for 
the  last  stroke  of  the  bell ;  and  many  habitually  keep  to 
their  beds  till  the  very  last  moment  consistent  with  car 
rying  through  this  process.  As  the  bell  utters  its  final 
notes  of  warning,  crowds  come  hurrying  from  all  direc 
tions,  faster  and  faster,  rushing  and  jostling  each  other 
about  the  entrance  doors  ;  but  the  moment  it  becomes 
silent,  every  man  of  them  has  disappeared,  and  the  yard 
is  as  quiet  and  deserted  as  in  the  midst  of  the  long 
vacation.  No  one  is  ever  late  at  morning  chapel,  for 
the  penalty  for  tardiness  is  the  same  as  that  for  absence, 
and  the  man  who  cannot  promptly  get  to  his  seat  cuts 
the  exercise  altogether.  On  Sundays,  breakfast  is  not 
served  until  after  prayers,  and  it  is  a  common  thing  for 
a  man  to  rush  to  chapel,  unwashed,  uncombed  and  half- 
dressed.  Afterwards  he  completes  his  toilet,  and  break 
fasts  at  his  leisure.  On  Sunday  mornings,  too,  there  is 
an  unusual  amount  of  "  sleeping  over," — breakfast  being 
often  cut  as  well  as  chapel  by  the  votaries  of  Morpheus. 
Chapel  prayers  occupy  about  fifteen  minutes,  and  are 
usuually  conducted  by  the  president,  who  reads  a  pas 
sage  from  the  Bible,  gives  out  a  hymn  to  the  choir,  and 
in  conclusion  offers  a  short  prayer.  During  this  latter 
part  of  the  service  the  college  officers  who  are  present 
stand  up  in  their  pews,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  stu 
dents  bow  their  heads  upon  the  seats  in  front  of  them. 
The  Seniors  occupy  the  front  pews  of  the  central  aisle  ; 
the  Sophomores  the  corresponding  ones  of  the  right-hand 
or  north  aisle ;  the  Juniors  the  corresponding  ones  of 
the  left-hand  or  south  aisle  ;  and  the  Freshmen  all  the 
back  pews  of  the  three  aisles,  in  the  rear  of  the  three 
upper  classes.  The  college  officers  sit  in  raised  pews  or 
boxes,  placed  close  beside  the  wall.  There  are  in  all 
eight  of  these  boxes  :  two  at  the  rear  end  of  the  chapel, 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  S71 

one  on  each  side  of  it,  and  four  at  its  front  end, — two  of 
the  latter  being  on  each  side  of  the  pulpit,  placed  one 
above  the  other,  and  the  upper  one  being  made  accessi 
ble  by  the  pulpit  stairs.  Two  college  officers  are  allotted 
to  each  box  ;  four  students  to  each  pew.  The  boxes  are 
cushioned  ;  the«pews  are  not.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
prayer — except  in  the  rare  instances  where  the  audience 
has  been  previously  requested  to  remain,  to  listen  to 
some  announcement  from  the  president — the  Freshmen 
hasten  out  of  the  front  doors,  followed  by  their  instruct 
ors.  The  remaining  members  of  the  faculty,  except  the 
president  and  two  senior  professors,  then  pass  out — 
those  in  the  side  boxes,  through  the  front  doors,  those 
in  the  pulpit  boxes,  through  the  rear  doors — and  are 
followed  by  the  Juniors  and  Sophomores,  through  which 
ever  door  may  be  most  convenient.  The  president  and 
two  senior  professors  then  go  down  the  central  aisle  and 
out  of  the  front  entrance,  and  the  Seniors,  after  bowing 
to  them  as  they  pass  by,  follow  after  at  their  leisure. 

On  Sundays,  two  additional  services  are  held,  each  an 
hour  or  more  in  length,  when  the  college  pastor — since 
his  resignation,  the  president,  or  one  of  the  professors, 
or  some  other  minister — officiates  and  preaches  a  for 
mal  sermon.  The  times  of  assembling  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  city  churches, — half-past  ten  in  the  morning, 
and  half-past  two  or  three  in  the  afternoon.  The  presi 
dent  always  sits  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  Seniors  bow  to 
him  as  usual  as  he  goes  down  the  aisle.  He  goes  un 
attended,  however,  for  the  pulpit  boxes  are  deserted, 
and  the  professors  who  usually  occupy  them  sit  in  the 
galleries  with  their  families.  The  pastor,  who  usually 
sat  in  the  pulpit  at  morning  prayers  also,  always  passed 
out  at  one  of  the  doors  in  the  rear.  The  order  ob 
served  by  the  three  lower  classes  in  withdrawing  is  the 
same  as  usual,  but  there  is  not  the  usual  promptness  in 


572  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

assembling.  A  few  come  early,  to  make  sure  of  the 
"  corner  seats,"  but  some  straggle  in  long  after  the  com 
mencement  of  the  service,  and  very  many  are  a  few 
minutes  late.  Those  who  enter  during  the  progress  of 
an  opening  "  voluntary  "  are  not  marked  tardy ;  since, 
by  regulation,  no  chapel  service  "  commences  "  until  the 
moment  when  the  president  or  minister  rises  in  the 
pulpit  to  speak.  On  the  first  Sunday  in  each  month, 
the  communion  service  is  held,  at  the  close  of  the  regu 
lar  forenoon's  exercises,  when  all  save  the  church  mem 
bers  have  withdrawn.  The  ceremony  of  admitting  new 
members  to  the  church,  however,  is  performed  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  body  of  undergraduates. 

The  college  church  was  organized  by  the  corporation 
in  June,  1757,  in  answer  to  the  petition  of  a  dozen  indi 
viduals — undergraduates  and  tutors — who  were  already 
members  of  various  churches.  For  only  four  years 
previous  to  that  had  there  been  separate  preaching  to 
the  students  on  Sunday,  in  the  college  chapel, — the 
whole  college  having  attended  the  Sunday  services  of 
one  of  the  city  churches,  up  to  the  year  1753,  and  the 
change  was  not  effected,  nor  the  college  church  estab 
lished,  without  bitter  opposition  from  many.  At  present 
the  church  is  composed  of  the  president  and  most  of  the 
professors  and  their  families,  most  of  the  tutors,  a  few 
from  the  professional  schools,  and  perhaps  a  sixth  part 
of  the  undergraduates.  The  church  members  in  each 
class  of  the  latter,  shortly  after  entering  college,  organize 
by  the  choice  of  three  deacons,  who  serve  during  the 
remainder  of  the  course.  Some  who  have  previously 
been  church  members  keep  the  fact  to  themselves,  and 
do  not  attend  the  communion  of  the  college  church  or 
any  other,  while  at  New  Haven.  In  the  case  of  '69, 
exactly  half  of  the  men  who  graduated  had  been  pro 
fessed  church  members,  but  not  over  half  of  these  made 
any  public  acknowledgment  of  it  while  in  college. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  573 

Instead  of  going  to  the  chapel,  students  are  allowed 
to  attend  the  services  of  other  denominations  to  which 
they  or  their  parents  belong,  but  they  must  always  select 
one  particular  church.  If  they  be  Episcopalians,  they 
must  always  go  to  Trinity,  and  there  occupy  the  par 
ticular  seats  assigned  them  by  the  faculty;  for  in  that 
church  the  college  always  rents  several  pews,  and 
charges  the  cost  of  the  same  upon  the  term-bills  of  the 
occupants.  Two  half-days  in  a  term,  a  person  may  be 
excused  to  attend  any  church  he  chooses  instead  of  the 
chapel ;  but  with  this  exception  no  one  is  [was]  allowed 
to  go  to  a  Congregational  church, — not  even  if  he  and 
his  parents  be  members  of  it,  and  have  attended  its 
services  all  their  life-times.  Since  the  exit  of  '69,  how 
ever,  this  last  restriction  has  been  removed.  Visitors  to 
the  chapel,  either  at  morning  prayers  or  Sunday  service, 
always  occupy  the  galleries,  as  the  entire  lower  floor  of 
the  house  is  taken  up  by  the  collegians.  There  are 
quite  a  good  many  of  these  visitors  on  Sunday,  most  of 
whom  are  the  friends  and  relatives  of  particular  stu 
dents,  though  some  others  are  doubtless  attracted  by 
the  novel  sight  of  a  large  congregation  composed  en 
tirely  of  young  men.  On  the  other  hand,  at  exhibitions 
held  in  the  chapel,  the  body  of  the  house  is  reserved  for 
visitors,  and  the  students  who  attend  occupy  the 
galleries. 

The  college  choir  is  made  up  from  all  the  classes,  and 
is  under  the  direction  of  the*  instructor  in  Music,  who 
also  plays  the  organ.  This  instrument  was  procured 
in  the  summer  of  1851,  chiefly  through  the  exertions  of 
the  president  of  the  Beethoven  society.  It  was  built  by 
the  Hooks,  of  Boston,  and  its  cost  was  $1600.  Pre 
viously,  the  miscellaneous  orchestra  of  the  society  had 
supplied  the  music  for  the  chapel  services.  In  fact,  the 
society  from  its  organization  in  1812  up  to  about  1862 


574  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

itself  formed  the  choir,  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
years  1855-57.     Since  1862  the  choir  has  been  an  inde 
pendent  institution,  though  most  or  all  who  belong  to  it 
are  members  of  the   society  also.     Admissions  to  the 
choir  are  now  granted   by  the   faculty,   on   recommen 
dation  of  the  instructor  in  Music ;  and  it  is  sometimes 
remarked   that   a   man's   moral    or  religious   character 
seems  to  have  more  influence  in  getting  him  a  position 
than  his  abilities  as  a  singer.     At  all  events,  some  of  the 
best  singers  in  college  are  not  in  the  choir,  and  some  of 
the  poorest  are ;  but  as  a  rule  its  music  is  acceptable 
enough,  and  its  "Christmas  Anthem,"  sung  at  morning 
prayers  of  the  Sunday  before  Christmas,  always  attracts 
a  large  number  of  visitors,  spite  of  the  early  hour,  as 
well  as  an  unusually  full  attendance  of  undergraduates. 
In  the  old  times,  prayers  were  held  twice  a  day :  at  five 
or  six  in  the  morning  and  at  half-past  four  in  the  after 
noon.     Morning  prayers  and  the  recitations  following 
were  thus  in  the  winter  held  by  candlelight,  and  break 
fast  succeeded  them.      The  singing    was   confined    to 
evening  prayers.      It  was  not  till  the  opening  of  the 
academic  year  in  September,  1859,  that  evening  prayers 
were  abolished,  and  the  present  system  introduced  of 
having  simply  morning  prayers,  and  those  at  a  reason 
able  hour. 

Every  freshman  class  is  divided  alphabetically  into 
four  divisions.  In  junior,  sometimes  in  sophomore,  year 
the  number  is  reduced  to  three,  and  in  senior  year  there 
are  only  two  divisions.  One  of  the  instructors,  to  whom 
the  entire  class  recite,  is  assigned  to  each  division,  as  its 
own  particular  "  officer,"  and  to  him  every  member  of 
that  division  hands  in  his  excuses  and  applies  for  in 
formation  as  to  his  own  position  in  the  eyes  of  the 
faculty.  The  penalty  for  absence  from  recitation,  lecture 
or  prayers,  is  two  marks.  Two  marks  are  also  charged 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  575 

for  tardiness  at  the  latter,  or  at  the  Sunday  services,  for 
absence  from  which  eight  marks  are  charged.  Eight 
marks  are  also  charged  for  absence  from  examination  ; 
and  for  tardiness  at  any  college  exercise,  except  those 
otherwise  specified,  a  single  mark  is  inflicted.  Egress 
from  any  exercise  counts  the  same  as  absence.  "  One, 
two,  or  three  marks  will  also  be  given  for  various  impro 
prieties  of  conduct :  thus  for  loud  noise  or  other  disor 
der,  especially  at  night ;  for  being  connected  with  a 
noisy  or  disorderly  gathering  ;  and  for  whispering,  read 
ing  and  other  improprieties  of  attitude  or  action  at  the 
religious  and  literary  exercises  of  the  college."  "When 
the  marks  of  any  student  shall  amount  to  16,  he  shall 
be  reported  to  the  faculty  and  placed  upon  the  '  course 
of  discipline,'  and  a  written  notice  of  the  fact  be  given 
to  his  parent  or  guardian.  When  they  rise  to  32,  he 
shall  be  placed  on  the  second  stage  of  the  same  course, 
and  a  second  notice  shall  be  given.  When  they  rise  to 
48  he  shall  be  removed  from  the  college."  Such  is  the 
rule,  but  the  division  officer — after  freshman  year,  at 
least — seldom  notifies  anyone  but  the  individual  con 
cerned  as  to  the  state  of  his  marks,  so  long  as  they  are 
kept  below  the  limit  of  48.  "  Removal  from  college  " 
generally  means  suspension,  for  six  weeks  or  a  term,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  the  student  re-enters  the  class 
with  a  clean  score.  Twelve  marks  are  erased  at  the 
end  of  each  of  the  first  two  terms,  and  thirty-two  at  the 
end  of  the  year  or  third  term,  by  standing  regulation  ;  so 
that  every  individual  may  incur  56  marks  in  the  course 
of  the  year,  without  subjecting  himself  to  "  discipline  " 
of  any  sort.  It  is  expected  that  he  will  incur  that  num 
ber,  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  the  person  who  goes 
through  college  with  an  entirely  clean  score — if  such  a 
rare  bird  is  ever  known  of — is  thought  no  more  of  by 
the  faculty  than  the  one  who  indulges  in  his  full  allow- 


576  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

ance  of  224  marks.  As  32  marks  are  canceled  at  the 
end  of  the  third  term,  it  would  seem  to  be  foolish  for 
the  division  officer  to  give  notice  when  half  that  number 
has  been  incurred,  as  by  the  regulation  he  is  required 
to  do. 

In  an  ordinary  recitation,  the  presiding  officer  himself 
marks  the  absent  or  tardy  ones,  but  in  the  chapel,  or  at 
lecture,  or  anything  of  the  sort,  where  a  whole  class  is 
assembled,  that  duty  is  performed  by  "monitors." 
There  are  three  of  these  in  each  class, — indigent  stu 
dents  of  good  character,  who  receive  a  small  stipend  for 
their  trouble.  There  is  no  implied  degradation  of  any 
sort  attached  to  the  office,  and  a  monitor  is  never  looked 
upon  by  the  students  in  the  light  of  a  spy  or  informer 
for  the  faculty.  Each  monitor  is  supplied  with  a  book 
in  which  are  printed  the  names  and  seats  of  those  for 
whom  he  is  to  give  account.  In  the  space  following 
each  name  he  marks  a  perpendicular  line,  if  the  man  be 
present,  a  horizontal  one  if  he  be  tardy,  and  in  case  of 
absence  he  simply  leaves  a  blank.  He  then  dates  the 
report,  tears  from  the  book  the  page  or  pages  contain 
ing  it,  and  at  the  close  of  the  exercise  hands  it  in  to  the 
proper  officer.  Inside  the  front  cover  of  the  book  are 
printed  the  rules  which  the  monitor  pledges  himself  to 
obey.  A  special  monitor  does  duty  in  the  choir,  and  all 
who  belong  to  that  organization  are  allowed  a  minimum 
of  32  and  a  maximum  of  74  marks,  in  place  of  the  16 
and  48  which  limit  the  boundaries  of  the  "  course  of 
discipline  "  in  the  case  of  the  others.  Thirty  years  ago, 
all  the  monitors  were  chosen  from  the  senior  class,  and 
the  office  was  conferred  as  a  sort  of  reward  for  high 
scholarship. 

"  No  students  are  considered  regular  members  of  col 
lege,  till,  after  a  residence  of  at  least  six  months,  they 
have  been  admitted  to  matriculation  on  satisfactory  evi- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  577 

clence  of  good  moral  character."  So  says  the  formula. 
The  satisfactory  evidence  consists  in  a  man's  staying  at 
the  college  for  six  successive  months  without  having  six 
teen  marks  charged  against  him  at  any  one  time.  Sup 
pose  at  the  end  of  the  first  term  freshman  he  has  fifteen, 
he  begins  the  second  term  with  three,  and  quickly  mak 
ing  up  the  canceled  dozen,  he  has  incurred  twenty-seven 
marks  in  all,  but  as  only  fifteen  stand  against  him  at  the 
end  of  six  months,  his  character  is  considered  satisfac 
torily  moral,  and  he  is  matriculated.  Suppose  another 
one,  who  went  with  a  clean  score  through  the  first  term, 
incurs  just  sixteen  marks  during  the  second, — or  eleven 
less  than  our  moral  friend, — he  cannot  be  matriculated. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  second  term  freshman,  then,  or 
at  the  beginning  of  the  third,  all  those  who  have  not 
received  over  fifteen  marks  are  summoned,  in  squads  of  a 
dozen,  to  appear  before  the  senior  tutor,  who  reads  from 
his  book  the  following  oath  :  "  I  promise,  on  condition 
of  being  admitted  as  a  member  of  Yale  College,  on  my 
faith  and  honor,  to  obey  all  the  laws  and  regulations  of 
this  college  ;  particularly  that  I  will  faithfully  avoid  in 
temperance,  profanity,  gaming,  and  all  indecent,  disor 
derly  behavior,  and  disrespectful  conduct  to  the  faculty, 
and  all  combinations  to  resist  their  authority  ;  as  wit 
ness  my  hand."  Each  "candidate"  then  signs  his  name 
in  the  book,  and  the  farce  is  at  an  end.  Perhaps  two- 
thirds  of  the  class  are  wise  enough  to  keep  down  their 
marks  during  the  early  months  of  their  course,  and  so 
get  matriculated  at  this  first  opportunity.  Other  names 
straggle  into  the  book  at  various  times  for  the  next 
three  years,  and  the  last  few  of  each  class  are  generally 
thought  moral  enough  to  sign,  after  their  long  probation, 
in  spite  of  being  on  a  very  "  advanced  stage  of  disci 
pline"  in  the  matter  of  marks.  It  is  always  good  policy 
for  a  Freshman  so  to  conduct  himself  as  to  get  matricu- 

26 


578  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

lated  with  the  first,  for  the  difficulty  of  keeping  off  from 
the  "  course  of  dscipline"  for  six  successive  months  con 
stantly  increases  as  the  terms  go  by  ;  and  as  the  thing 
must  be  done  sometime  before  graduation,  it  is  well  to 
have  it  ofT  one's  mind  as  early  as  possible.  The  only 
difference  in  the  treatment  of  a  "  matriculated"  and  a 
"  probationary"  student  seems  to  be  that  in  a  "  tight 
place"  the  former  has  a  slight  advantage  and  is  apt  to  be 
treated  a  little  more  leniently. 

Scholarship  is  marked  upon  a  scale  of  4,  which  repre 
sents  "perfection."  The  "average"  mark  is  2,  which 
represents  the  lowest  stand  on  which  a  man  can  keep  in 
the  class  and  graduate, — "  stand"  being  the  ordinary 
term  for  rank,  or  scholarship,  as  marked  on  the  books  of 
the  faculty.  The  gradations  from  o  up  to  4  are  by  hun- 
dredths,  and  a  man  is  said  to  have  a  stand*of  2.85,  3.20 
and  so  on,  as  the  case  may  be.  Occasionally  the  divis 
ion-master  copies  off  from  the  books  of  his  associates, 
the  stands  of  his  division  in  the  other  departments,  and 
if  he  finds  any  of  his  men  below  average  in  any  branch 
he  warns  them  to  improve  at  once  in  it.  If  a  man  gets 
very  low  in  one  or  more  studies  he  may  be  suspended, 
and  advised  to  cram  up  under  a  private  tutor.  As 
already  stated,  if  the  mark  of  the  term  examination 
combined  with  that  of  the  term  brings  one's  stand  in 
any  study  below  average,  he  is  conditioned  on  that  study. 
If  he  passes  his  conditions  satisfactorily,  well  and  good  ; 
but  his  stand  in  the  study  remains  unchanged.  A  con 
dition  is  always  in  the  nature  of  a  penalty;  and  hence 
if  a  man  make  up  at  3.25  a  condition  on  an  examina 
tion  of  which  he  had  failed  at  i.^o,  the  lower  mark 
would  alone  be  regarded  in  deciding  his  stand  for  the 
term.  The  work  of  a  term  examination  counts  as  one- 
fifth,  one-sixth,  one-seventh,  or  some  other  proportion 
that  the  individual  examiner  may  think  good,  of  the  sum 


•    THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  579 

of  the  marks  of  the  term  recitations  ;  and  when  the 
recitation  marks  and  examination  marks  of  all  the 
studies  of  a  term  are  combined  together,  the  resulting 
average  indicates  a  man's  general  stand  for  that  term. 
The  stand  is  placed  on  permanent  record,  as  also  the 
stand  gained  by  averaging  all  the  marks  <£  a  single 
Annual.  By  combining  the  three  term  stands  with  the 
Animal  stand — the  latter  counting  as  about  one-fourth  of 
the  sum  of  the  three  former — the  general  stand  for  the  year 
is  derived  ;  except  that  in  senior  year  the  stand  of  the 
last  term  is  joined  with  that  of  the  Annual ;  and  by  a 
final  combination  of  the  four  year-stands  the  general 
stand  for  the  entire  course  is  at  last  made  out. 

The  highest  stands  ever  gained  were  in  '63,  when  the 
valedictorian  had  3.71  and  the  salutatorian  3.67.  The 
valedictorian  of  the  year  before  had  3.62;  of  '6 1,  3. 58; 
°f  '57>  3-57  \  which  were  in  each  case  the  highest  stands 
ever  gained.  The  inference  that  the  standard  of  schol 
arship  is  increasing  may  or  may  not  be  true  ;  but  when 
the  four  years'  observations  and  decisions  of  many  differ 
ent  instructors  are  figured  down  to  such  a  very  fine 
point  that  they  may  be  expressed  by  a  single  numeral, 
it  is  well  enough  not  to  put  too  implicit  a  confidence  in 
the  absolute  significance  of  the  same,  or  of  the  varia 
tion  of  a  few  hundredths  in  stands  accredited  to  differ 
ent  classes.  On  the  day  after  Presentation,  on  applica 
tion  at  the  treasurer's  office,  each  member  of  the 
graduating  class  receives  a  paper  on  which  is  indicated 
his  stand  for  the  course,  and  for  every  year  and  term  of 
it,  made  out  according  to  the  system  just  described. 
Up  to  that  time  he  is  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  exact 
figures  standing  opposite  his  name  in  the  books  of  the 
faculty.  If  he  apply  to  his  division-officer  for  enlighten 
ment,  he  is  given  some  such  general  information  as  that 
he  is  doing  well,  or  very  well,  or  improving,  or  falling  off 


5 So  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  little,  or  doing  poorly ;  unless  he  happens  to  be  very 
low,  when  he  is  told  the  exact  number  of  hundredths  he 
has,  above  or  below  average.  At  the  close  of  the  first 
term  junior,  the  appointments  for  Junior  Exhibition  are 
given  out,  and  those  who  receive  them — about  half  the 
class — thus  learn  their  relative  though  not  their  absolute 
rank.  A  somewhat  similar  procedure  is  gone  through 
with  at  the  close  of  the  first  sophomore  term, — when 
their  relative  stands,  up  to  that  time  are  privately  told 
those  who  apply  for  them. 

Absence  from  recitation  is  marked  as  a  failure,  unless 
it  be  excused  and  the  omitted  lessons  be  subsequently 
made  up.  Each  instructor  appoints  certain  times  in  the 
week  for  the  making  up  of  omitted  recitations  in  his 
department,  and  calls  up  those  who  attend  in  the  order  in 
which  they  hand  in  their  papers.  On  the  paper  the 
student  marks  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  lesson  he 
wishes  to  make  up,  and  the  date  of  its  omission ;  but  if 
he  is  to  make  up  the  work  of  a  whole  week  or  more  he 
merely  states  the  dates  of  the  first  and  last  omitted 
exercise,  and  the  extent  of  ground  gone  over  from  the 
beginning  of  the  first  to  the  end  of  the  last  one.  The 
time  appointed  for  the  hearing  of  the  back  lessons  is 
usually  just  at  the  close  of  the  morning  or  noon  recita 
tion  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  latter  is  dismissed  those  who 
have  work  to  do  rush  to  the  desk,  with  the  papers  which 
they  have  previously  made  ready,  in  order  to  secure 
early  notice,  and  be  delayed  as  little  as  possible.  All 
lessons  must  be  made  up  within  two  weeks  from  the 
day  they  were  omitted,  though  the  time  may  be  extended 
by  excuses  until  two  weeks  from  the  beginning  of  the 
following  term,  and,  in  practice,  as  much  later  as  the 
good  nature  of  the  division-master  will  allow.  When  a 
man  is  absent  for  a  term,  in  addition  to  the  usual  term- 
examination  of  the  class,  he  is  required  to  pass  a  special 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  581 

private  examination  before  each  instructor,  and  the  mark 
which  he  then  receives  counts  as  an  equivalent  for  the 
sum  of  all  the  marks  he  would  have  received  at  the 
recitations  of  the  term. 

Excuses  for  absence  or  failure  have  to  be  given  in 
writing,  with  the  name  of  the  applicant  subscribed,  and 
to  be  handed  in  before  the  Tuesday  night  next  following 
his  return  to  his  duties,  or  the  commission  of  his 
offense.  Later  excuses  may  be  granted,  but  one  mark 
a  day  may  be  charged  for  tardiness  in  handing  them  in. 
A  similar  penalty  may  be  inflicted  in  the  case  of  church- 
papers  delayed  beyond  Tuesday  night.  A  church-paper 
is  a  certificate  that  a  man,  who  has  been  excused  from 
the  chapel,  has  attended  services  in  a  particular  church 
elsewhere  during  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  of  Sun 
day,  and  has  remained  there  in  each  case  from  the 
opening  to  the  close  of  the  exercises.  Blanks  worded 
to  this  effect — with  the  additional  clause  in  the  case  of 
Trinity  church  that  the  subscriber  "  occupied  the  seat 
assigned  him  by  the  faculty  " — always  lie  upon  each 
instructor's  desk,  and  can  be  signed  and  dated  with  but 
little  trouble.  Regular  chapel-goers  who  attend  church 
elsewhere  on  the  two  half-Sundays  allowed  them  each 
term,  draw  their  church  papers  from  the  tutor  who  has 
charge  of  the  matter  for  all  college.  During  the  half- 
hour  preceding  each  service,  he  is  obliged  to  stay  at  his 
room  and  sign  blank  permits  for  those  who  apply  for 
them,  giving  leave  to  such  a  person,  of  such  a  class,  to 
be  absent  from  the  chapel,  on  that  particular  forenoon 
or  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  attending  service  else 
where.  Connected  with  the  permit  is  another  blank 
which  the  recipient  fills  out  and  signs,  to  certify  the  fact 
that  on  that  particular  occasion  he  did  attend  the  ser 
vices  at  a  particular  church,  from  the  opening  to  the  end 
of  the  same. 


582  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

On  the  officers'  desks  are  also  kept  a  quantity  of 
"  excuse  papers,"  or  blank  sheets  for  the  writing  of 
excuses,  at  the  head  of  which  sheets  are  printed  certain 
precautionary  directions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  ex 
cuses  must  be  worded.  The  regulations  as  they  appear 
in  the  book  of  college  laws  are  as  follows:  "Excuses 
shall  not  be  granted  on  the  following  grounds :  not 
hearing  the  bell ;  being  out  late  on  the  preceding  even 
ing;  being  overtaken  with  sleep  after  studying  the 
lesson  ;  difficulty  of  the  exercise  and  reluctance  to  attend 
and  fail ;  writing  letters  or  preparing  college  or  society 
exercises  ;  walking  or  riding  abroad  and  being  unable 
to  return  in  time  ;  arranging  room  at  the  commencement 
of  the  term  ;  mislaying  books  or  articles  of  apparel  ; 
interruption  by  students  or  persons  from  abroad  ;  indis 
position,  when  the  student  is  not  prevented  by  illness 
from  walking  abroad.  If  these  excuses  are  ever  ad 
mitted,  it  must  be  from  some  peculiarity  in  the  circum 
stances  of  the  case  ;  and  if  the  excuse  of  *  indisposition  ' 
shall  be  frequently  given,  such  cases  shall  be  reported 
to  the  faculty."  These  prohibitions  apply  to  excuses 
offered  "  after  the  fact,"  since,  for  some  of  the  reasons 
given,  leave  of  absence  is  freely  granted,  if  asked  for 
in  advance.  "  For  absence  or  failure,  when  the  neces 
sity  can  be  foreseen,  permission  must  be  sought  before 
hand  from  the  division  officer,  or  in  his  absence  from 
some  other  instructor  of  the  class,  or  in  their  absence 
from  some  other  officer  of  the  college :  otherwise  the 
excuse  can  rarely  be  accepted."  The  reason  for  reject- 
in":  a  "sick  excuse  "  from  a  man  who  was  not  confined 

o 

to  his  room  is,  of  course,  that,  since  he  was  able  to 
walk  abroad,  he  could  have  visited  the  proper  officer 
and  gained  his  excuse  in  advance. 

Leave  of  absence  from  town  for  a  week  or  less  may 
be  granted  by  the    division-officer ;    for   more    than    a 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  583 

week  by  the  president,  at  the  written  request  of  that 
officer,  with  whom  the  applicant  must  afterwards  lodge 
the  written  permit  granted  him  by  the  president.  If  a 
man  takes  out  a  leave  for  a  longer  time  than  a  week, 
notice  of  the  fact,  and  of  the  reason  for  it,  is  sent  to 
his  parent  or  guardian.  No  leave  of  absence  is  granted 
for  a  longer  period  than  four  months,  except  for  ill- 
health,  or  to  join  a  lower  class.  A  man  is  sometimes 
suspended  for  a  whole  year,  however,  on  account  of 
misconduct,  and  ultimately  received  back  into  his  class, 
but  such  cases  are  uncommon.  No  person  who  is  sus 
pended,  or  given  a  leave  of  absence,  is  allowed  to  remain 
in  New  Haven  while  the  college  is  in  session,  and  if  a 
person  who  is  excused  to  go  away  for  two  or  three  days 
returns  before  his  leave  has  expired,  he  must  at  once 
begin  attendance  upon  the  college  exercises.  If  he  stays 
beyond  the  time  allowed  him,  or  is  not  present  at  the 
opening  of  the  term,  unless  he  can  bring  some  accept 
able  written  excuse,  signed  by  his  parent  or  other 
accredited  person,  "  he  may  be  punished  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  fifty  cents  a  day,  or  by  censure,  or  by  deduc 
tion  from  the  standing,  at  the  discretion  of  the  faculty." 
"  Permission  to  be  absent  from  the  college  exercises  for 
the  purpose  of  attending  friends,  shall  be  given  only 
when  they  are  from  abroad  and  are  to  leave  town  so 
speedily  as  to  make  such  attendance  indispensable." 
In  addition  to  the  eight  marks  inflicted  for  cutting  Sun 
day  service,  a  "  warning  "  is  also  given,  accompanied 
by  a  "letter  home."  Warnings  are  also  inflicted  for 
other  serious  misdemeanors,  such  as  skinning  at 
examination,  and  three  of  them  in  succession  result  in 
removal  from  college.  Letters  home  are  also  sent  on 
other  occasions  than  those  mentioned  ;  as  when  a  man 
is  getting  low  in  his  studies,  or  is  suspended,  or  con 
ditioned,  or  dropped. 


584  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

The  score-book  —  in  which  each  instructor  enters  the 
merit-mark  of  every  recitation  which  he  hears,  and  also 
copies  the  stands  of  his  division  in  other  departments, 
and  keeps  account  of  the  number  of  marks  by  which 
they  are  progressing  on  "  the  course  of  discipline  " —  is 
a  curious  little  affair,  made  specially  for  the  purpose,  of 
stiff  white  paper,  ruled  in  black  into  minute  squares. 
On  each  of  these  squares  a  merit-mark  is  indicated  by 
a  peculiar  system  of  notation,  known  only  to  the  officer, 
so  that  if  by  chance  a  student  should  get  hold  of  the 
score-book  of  his  division  he  would  not  be  able  to  make 
out  very  closely  the  significance  of  the  hieroglyphics 
contained  therein.  These  are  mostly  straight  lines, 
drawn  at  various  angles  from  the  various  sides  of  the 
square,  and  made  to  signify,  according  to  their  position, 
"  2.25,"  "3.50,"  or  any  other  gradation  from  o  up  to  4, 
in  steps  of  twenty-five  hundredths.  The  scheme  is  no 
ticeable  as  furnishing  another  illustration  of  the  mystery 
which  constantly  surrounds  a  man's  stand  to  the  very 
end  of  the  course. 

It  is  seen,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the- enforce 
ment  of  order  and  discipline  is  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
division  officers,  and  nine  out  of  ten  of  the  students  ac 
cept  their  rulings  as  final,  and  never  have  anything  to 
say  regarding  the  subject  either  with  the  president  or 
other  members  of  the  faculty.  When  a  man  thinks  him 
self  aggrieved,  however,  he  can  appeal  from  his  division 
master  to  the  other  instructors  of  his  class,  or  call  upon 
some  higher  professor,  or  even  the  president,  to  intercede 
in  his  behalf  before  the  general  faculty.  When  a  par 
ticular  misdemeanor  has  been  expressly  taken  cognizance 
of  by  the  faculty,  an  individual  may  be  summoned  before 
them  at  their  weekly  assembly  to  give  an  account  of 
himself;  or;  when  a  penalty  has  been  decreed  or  is 
impending,  he  may  be  granted  permission  to  attend 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  5^5 

their  meeting  and  plead  his  case  in  person.  Sometimes 
a  plea  of  this  sort  is  made  by  letter,  addressed  to  the 
faculty,  and  read  by  the  petitioner's  division-master.  In 
cases  where  character  has  anything  to  do  with  mitigating 
an  offense,  or  lightening  the  sentence  of  an  offender, 
discussed  in  faculty  meeting,  the  opinions  of  the  class 
instructors,  who  alone  have  personal  acquaintance  with 
the  rrfan,  generally  decide  the  matter,  as  the  rest  of  the 
faculty  naturally  vote  according  to  their  advice. 

A  few  days  after  the  Freshmen  begin  their  duties, 
there  is  distributed  among  them  a  printed  sheet  of  the 
"regulations,"  in  regard  to  excuses,  church  going, marks, 
discipline,  making-up,  etc.,  such  as  have  been  mentioned 
and  quoted  from  in  this  chapter.  These  rules  are  really 
significant,  and  the  enforcement  of  them  is  insisted  upon. 
But,  before  the  close  of  the  term,  there  is  also  given  out 
a  more  comprehensive  collection,  in  the  shape  of  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "The  Laws  of  Yale  College," — to  a 
large  share  of  which  laws  obedience,  or  even  the  show 
of  it,  is  no  longer  exacted.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  every  matriculated  student  promises  "on  his  faith 
and  honor  "  to  obey  rt//the  laws  of  the  college,  the  con 
scientious  care  with  which  he  keeps  his  matriculation 
oath  may  be  imagined. 

What  the  government  and  discipline  were  in  the  old 
times,  the  earlier  editions  of  the  laws  help  to  indicate. 
When  the  college  was  first  established,  the  trustees 
instructed  the  rector  to  govern  it  according  to  the  laws 
in  use  at  Harvard,  —  and  those  of  Oxford  and  Cam 
bridge  from  which  they  were  in  part  copied, — so  far  as 
no  other  provision  had  been  made.  "  The  earliest  known 
laws  of  the  college  belong  to  the  years  1720  and  1726, 
and  are  in  manuscript ;  which  is  explained  by  the  cus 
tom  that  every  Freshman,  on  his  admission,  was  required 
to  write  off  a  copy  of  them  for  himself,  to  which  the 

26* 


5^6  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

'  admittatur '  of  the  officers  was  subscribed.  In  the 
year  1745,  President  Clap  completed  a  new  revision  of 
the  laws,  which  exists  in  manuscript ;  but  the  first 
printed  code  was  in  Latin,  and  was  issued  from  the  press 
of  T.  Green  at  New  London  in  1748.  Various  editions 
with  sundry  changes  in  them  appeared  between  that 
time  and  1774,  when  the  first  edition  in  English  saw 
the  light.  This  is  said  to  have  been  printed  fo'r  the 
benefit  of  the  Legislature,  who  wished  to  examine  the 
laws  of  the  college  before  complying  with  its  request  for 
more  money,  and  did  not  care  to  pursue  their  investiga 
tions  through  the  medium  of  a  dead  language.  From 
that  time,  the  numberless  editions  of  the  laws  have  all 
been  in  the  English  tongue."  So  long  as  they  were 
printed  in  Latin,  a  copy  was  given  to  each  Freshman  as 
soon  as  he  had  completed  his  entrance  examination,  and 
to  this  copy  were  attached  two  blanks,  the  first  of  which 
was  filled  out  on  application  to  the  steward,  who  certi 
fied  that  "  the  bond  required  by  these  laws"  had  been 
given  to  him  by  such  a  candidate  for  admission  ;  which 
candidate  then  applied  to  the  president  and  tutors,  who 
filled  out  the  second  form,  to  certify  that  he  was  admitted 
to  the  college. 

"  The  old  system  of  discipline  may  be  described  in 
general  as  consisting  of  a  series  of  minor  punishments 
for  various  petty  offenses,  while  the  more  extreme 
measure  of  separating  a  student  from  college  seems  not 
to  have  been  usually  adopted  until  long  forbearance  had 
been  found  fruitless,  even  in  cases  which  would  now  be 
visited  in  all  American  colleges  with  speedy  dismission. 
The  chief  of  these  punishments  named  in  the  laws  are 
imposition  of  school  exercises  ;  deprivation  of  the  priv 
ilege  of  sending  Freshmen  upon  errands,  or  extension 
of  the  period  during  which  this  servitude  should  be 
required  beyond  the  end  of  freshman  year  ;  fines,  either 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  587 

specified,  of  which  there  are  a  very  great  number  in  the 
earlier  laws,  or  arbitrarily  imposed  by  the  officers  ;  admo 
nition  and  degradation.  For  the  common  offense  of 
mischievously  ringing  the  bell,  students  were  sometimes 
required  to  act  as  the  butler's  waiters  in  ringing  the 
bell  for  a  certain  time.  In  1748,  there  were  fines  of  a 
penny  for  absence  and  a  half-penny  for  tardiness  at 
prayers  ;  of  fourpence  for  absence  from  public  worship  ; 
of  from  two  to  sixpence  for  absence  from  one's  chamber 
during  the  time  of  study ;  of  one  shilling  for  picking 
open  a  lock  the  first  time  and  two  shillings  for  the  sec 
ond  ;  of  two  shillings  and  sixpence  for  playing  at  cards 
or  dice  or  bringing  strong  liquor  into  college  ;  of  one 
shilling  for  doing  damage  to  the  college,  or  jumping  out 
of  the  windows  ; — and  so  on  in  many  other  cases.  An 
outcry  was  made,  a  dozen  years  later,  against  the  injus 
tice  and  ill  effects  of  this  plan,  and  the  general  infliction 
of  money  penalties  gradually  became  obsolete. 

"  The  punishment  of  degradation,  laid  aside  not  very 
long  before  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  was 
still  more  characteristic  of  the  times.  It  \vas  a  method 
of  acting  upon  the  aristocratic  feelings  of  family  ;  and 
we  at  this  day  can  hardly  conceive  to  what  extent  the 
social  distinctions  were  then  acknowledged  and  cher 
ished.  In  the  manuscript  laws  of  the  infant  college  is 
the  following  regulation,  borrowed  from  an  early  ordi 
nance  of  Harvard :  *  Every  student  shall  be  called  by 
his  sir  name,  except  he  be  the  son  of  a  nobleman,  or  a 
knight's  eldest  son.'  I  know  not  whether  such  a  one 
ever  received  the  honors  of  the  college,  but  a  kind  of 
colonial  untitled  aristocracy  grew  up,  composed  of  the 
families  of  chief  magistrates,  and  of  other  civilians  and 
ministers.  In  the  second  year  of  college  life,  precedency 
according  to  the  aristocratic  scale  was  determined,  and 
the  arrangement  of  the  names  on  the  class  roll  was  in 


588  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

accordance.  This  being  the  principle  of  rank,  degrada 
tion  consisted  in  placing  a  student  on  the  list,  in  conse 
quence  of  some  offense,  below  the  level  to  which  his 
father's  condition  would  assign  him,  —  thus  declaring 
that  he  had  disgraced  his  family.  This  seems  to  have 
been  a  somewhat  severe  punishment,  and  one  not  often 
inflicted."  Still  another  punishment,  known  to  the  first 
fifty  years  of  the  college,  was  the  i(  good  old-fashioned" 
one  of  personal  chastisement.  The  culprit  was  sum 
moned  before  the  president,  and  boxed  on  the  ears  by 
him,  in  the  presence  of  all  college.  This  boxing  or 
cuffing  seems  not  to  have  been  inflicted  later  than  the 
first  part  of  sophomore  year.  Public  admonitions,  con 
fessions,  and  apologies  were  also  very  common  in  those 
days. 

The  idea  at  the  bottom  of  the  present  marking  system 
is  this,  that  if  students  regularly  attend  the  appointed 
exercises  of  the  college,  and  fulfil  their  duties  well 
enough  to  keep  above  a  certain  average  in  their  studies, 
they  supply  a  satisfactory  presumption  of  good  behavior 
in  private,  and  may  be  safely  left  to  their  own  devices. 
Where  a  man  is,  or  what  he  is  doing,  outside  the  hours 
when  his  presence  is  required  at  recitation,  lecture,  or 
chapel,  the  faculty  make  no  effort  to  enquire.  The 
"  paternal"  theory  of  government  is  not  much  insisted 
on  by  them.  Of  course,  if  grave  breaches  of  morality, 
or  violations  of  the  civil  law  come  to  their  notice,  they 
have  to  inflict  a  penalty  therefor  ;  but  they  are  not  on 
the  watch  for  such  cases, — there  is  no  spy  system  con 
nected  with  the  college.  Unless  evidence  is  offered  to 
the  contrary,  the  good  behavior  of  the  students  is  taken 
for  granted,  and  they  are  let  alone.  "  Keep  your  stand 
above  two,  and- your  marks  below  forty-eight,"  say  the 
authorities,  in  effect,  "and  we  will  insist  upon  nothing 
more." 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  589 

Before  closing  the  chapter,  mention  should  be  made 
of  a  recent  change  in  the  mode  of  dividing  the  classes, 
which,  though  thus  far  an  avowed  experiment,  may  not 
unlikely  be  permanently  retained.  It  consists  in  form 
ing  the  divisions  according  to  scholarship,  instead  of 
alphabetically ;  bringing  the  best  scholars  of  the  class 
into  the  first  division,  the  next  best  into  the  second,  and 
so  on  for  the  others.  Occasionally,  say  once  a  term, 
the  stands  are  overhauled,  and  those  who  have  improved 
sufficiently  are  advanced  to  a  higher  division,  and  those 
who  have  fallen  off  are  put  back  into  a  lower  one.  In 
this  way  it  is  expected  that  a  constant  incentive  to  effort 
will  be  supplied,  and  that  the  poor  scholars  will  be  pre 
vented  from  impeding  the  good  ones,  as  under  the  old 
system  they  were  to  some  extent  apt  to  do.  The  first 
division,  of  best  scholars,  are  now  left  free  to  go  over 
more  ground  than  is  required  of  the  third  or  fourth 
division,  of  poorest  scholars,  upon  a  given  subject;  and 
every  division  can  receive  the  kind  of  instruction  best 
adapted  to  its  capacities.  'Sixty-nine  was  the  last  class 
which  went  through  the  course  on  the  old  democratic 
basis  of  the  alphabet.  Each  of  the  two  succeeding 
classes  were  experimented  upon  under  the  new  plan, 
but  '72  was  the  first  class  to  which  it  was  applied  sys 
tematically  from  the  outset.  That  is  to  say,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  second  freshman  term,  the  class,  pre 
viously  arranged  alphabetically,  was  divided  according 
to  rank,  and  a  new  allotment  made  at  the  close  of  each 
subsequent  term  till  the  close  of  junior  year.  In  senior 
year  the  class  is  divided  in  two  alphabetical  divisions, 
the  same  as  under  the  old  system.  There  seems  to  be 
little  doubt  that  the  results  of  the  new  arrangement  upon 
the  members  of  the  first  divisions  are  beneficial,  but  its 
ultimate  effect*upon  the  poorer  scholars,  and  upon  class 
unity  and  patriotism  in  general,  may  perhaps  not  be  so 
favorable. 


CHAPTER  III. 
II  O  N  O  R  S  . 

Appointments  for  Junior  Exhibition  and  Commencement— How 
they  are  Determined  and  Announced— The  Amount  of  Exertion 
which  they  Call  Forth  —  Stand,  as  Popularly  Regarded  — 
"  Scholars  of  the  House  "—The  Berkeley  Scholarship— Sheldon 
Clark,  and  his  Donations  — The  Bristed  Scholarship  —  Fresh 
man  Scholarships:  Woolsey,  Hurlbut,  and  Runk  —  DeForest 
Scholarship,  for  Modern  Languages— Beneficiary  Funds— The 
Harmer  Foundation  —  The  DeForest  Fund— Premiums  for 
Translation  and  Latin  Composition  —  Miscellaneous  Clark 
Awards— Prizes  in  Astronomy  and  Mathematics— Declamation 
Prizes :  Old  and  New  Modes  of  Awarding  Them — Prizes  for 
English  Composition— Prize  Poems— New  Mode  of  Awarding 
the  Composition  Prizes—"  Honorary  Mentions  "  for  the  Seniors 
—  The  Townscnd  Premiums,  and  the  DeForest  Medal  —  Speak 
ing  for  the  Prize—  Statistics  of  the  DeForest  Men  —  Total 
Prize  and  Scholarship  Funds  of  the  College  — General  Effects  of 
the  Honor  System. 

The  "honors"  which  are  held  out  as  an  inducement 
for  scholastic  effort  are  chiefly  in  the  form  of  "  appoint 
ments  "  for  the  two  public  occasions,  Junior  Exhibition 
and  Commencement.  In  the  old  times,  all  who  received 
appointments  were  expected  to  take  part  in  these  exhi 
bitions,  but  now  only  a  small  portion  of  them  do  so. 
Except  in  a  few  cases,  the  names  of  the  appointments 
are  simply  significant  of  rank,  and  not,  as  formerly, 
indicative  of  the  different  kinds  of  speeches  delivered 
by  their  recipients.  The  appointments  fall  under  four 
general  titles  :  "  orations,"  "  dissertations,"  "  disputes," 
and  "colloquies."  The  first  of  these  are  divided  into 
common,  "  high,"  and  "philosophical"  orations.  The 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  59 * 

highest  of  the  latter,  and  the  highest  appointment  given, 
is  the  "Valedictory"  oration  of  Commencement,  and 
the  next  highest  is  the  "  Salutatory  "  oration  of  this  same 
occasion.     These  titles  are  significant  of  the  character 
of  the  speeches  which  they  represent.     The  number  of 
"  philosophical, "   in   addition   to   the    two  which    are 
specially  named,  is  rarely  three,  usually  two,  and  some 
times  only  one.     There  is  only  one  sort  of  "  disserta 
tion,"  but  the  "  disputes  "  and  .  "  colloquies  "  are  each 
divided  into  "  first "  and  "  second,"  and  formerly  even 
into  "  third "   also.     Junior  Exhibition   is  held  on  the 
last  Wednesday  of  the  second  term,  and  the  appoint 
ments  are  given  out  at  the  close  of  the  term  before, — 
being  based  on  the  scholarship  of  the  first  seven  terms 
of  the  course.     The  last  of  the  term  examinations  are 
held  on  Tuesday  morning,  and  at  the  faculty  meeting  of 
the    afternoon,    the    marks   are    all    averaged   and    the 
appointments   finally   decided  upon.     Formerly  it  was 
customary  to  give  the  list,  late  in  the  evening,  to  the 
senior  tutor,    with    instructions   to    make  .its    contents 
public,  on    the  following  morning,    to    all    who   might 
enquire  concerning  it.    At  a  very  early  hour  some  Junior 
would  call  on  the  tutor,  and  obtain  the  list,  and  read  it 
aloud   from   the    chapel   steps   to  his  assembled  class- 
mates  ;  and  perhaps  afterwards  nail  it  up  on  the  Lyceum 
door.     It  is  about  ten  years,  however,  since  this  practice 
was  abandoned,  and  now-a-days  the  Juniors  usually  get 
their  first  knowledge  of  the  appointments  from  the  city 
newspapers.    There  are  eight  divisions  in  the  list,  under 
each  of  which  the  names  are  arranged  alphabetically, 
and  not  according  to  stand  :  philosophical  orations,  high 
orations,  orations,  dissertations,  first   disputes,  second 
disputes,  first  colloquies,  and  second  colloquies.     The 
Commencement  appointments  have  been  hitherto  an 
nounced  on  the  morning  following  Presentation  Day, 


592  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

when  the  stands  of  the  entire  class  are  also  given  out,  in 
the  manner  already  stated.  Formerly,  when  the  list 
was  nailed  on  the  Lyceum  door,  a  crowd  used  to 
assemble  to  discuss  it,  but  now  there  is  comparatively 
little  interest  in  the  final  summing  up,  and  most  are 
content  to  get  their  first  knowledge  of  it  from  the  lists 
printed  in  the  papers.  The  names  are  arranged  from 
first  to  last  according  to  stand,  and  not  alphabetically 
under  the  different  grades,  as  in  junior  year.  If  two  or 
more  have  exactly  the  same  mark  they  are  bracketed 
together.  The  valedictory,  salutatory,  and  philosophical 
orations  are  separately  noted,  and  the  colloquies  are 
not  divided  into  "  first  "  and  "  second  "  like  the  disputes. 
The  stand  indicated  by  a  particular  appointment  is  a 
comparative  rather  than  an  absolute  one.  For  instance, 
the  same  mark  that  in  one  class  gives  a  man  a  "  disser 
tation  "  might  give  him  an  oration  in  another  ;  the 
highest  of  the  non-appointment  men  in  one  class  might 
be  given  colloquies  in  another  ;  and  the  reverse.  The 
"Valedictorian"  is  simply  the  "best  scholar  in  his 
class,"  whatever  be  his  stand,  and  the  "Salutatorian  " 
is  in  like  manner  the  "  second  best."  No  one  ever 
speaks  of  valedictorian  or  salutatorian  stands.  The 
highest  stand  known  is  that  of  "philosophical,"  and 
those  who  possess  it  are  all  supposed  to  have  a  chance 
of  obtaining  the  two  highest  honors, — though  the  par 
ticular  individuals  who  have  the  best  chance  of  obtain 
ing  them  can  generally  be  guessed  at  pretty  accurately. 
It  is  a  common  thing  to  hear  a  person  say  that  in  a 
particular  study  he  "has  a  colloquy  stand,"  that  in  a 
certain  examination  he  "  passed  at  an  oration  stand," 
and  so  on  ;  since  the  instructors  will  usually  tell  an 
applicant  the  general  title  of  the  stand  with  which  he  is 
accredited,  though  not  the  exact  numeral  which  repre 
sents  it.  This  general  stand  can  usually  be  determined 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  593 

accurately  enough  by  the  instructor,  though  when  the 
appointments  are  actually  made  out,  the  exact  place  of 
drawing  the  line  between  two  particular  grades  is  not 
decided  by  an  invariable  rule.  It  is  always  intended  to 
make  the  division  between  two  individuals  whose  stands 
differ  widely,  not  between  two  who  are  almost  equal  in 
rank ;  and  thus,  as  before  observed,  the  same  mark  in 
different  classes  might  bring  its  possessors  under  dif 
ferent  grades  on  the  honor  list.  Nevertheless  the 
appointment  lists  and  their  various  divisions  may  be  made 
to  serve  fairly  enough  in  comparing  successive  classes. 
About  half  of  a  class  generally  receive  appointments, 
and  the  number  of  them  slightly  increases  from  Junior 
Ex  to  Commencement,  though  the  class  itself  decreases. 
For  the  most  part,  the  same  individuals  figure  on  both 
lists,  though  their  relative  positions  are  somewhat 
changed,  especially  those  of  the  low-appointment  men. 
The  lowest  stand  that  will  ensure  a  man  a  "colloquy" 
is  about  2.55  and  between  this  point  and  2  remain  about 
half  the  class,  nearly  all  of  whom  have  no  higher  ambi 
tion  than  simply  to  keep  up  to  the  latter  figure,  that  is 
to  say,  "  above  average."  Among  the  very  highest  of 
the  appointment  men,  there  is  often  considerable 
rivalry, — two  or  three  aspirants  for  the  first  place  some 
times  pressing  one  another  quite  closely  for  many  suc 
cessive  terms,  and  holders  of  "  high  "  orations  \vorking 
ambitiously  for  u  philosophical  ", — but  the  rest  of  them, 
after  getting  a  certain  appointment  which  they  have 
aimed  for,  are  usually  content  simply  to  "keep  up  their 
stands."  It  may  be  an  "oration,"  or  a  "dispute,"  or 
only  a  "  colloquy "  which  they  have  decided  to  strive 
for,  but  when  the  desired  stand  has  been  secured  they 
seldom  have  any  higher  ambition.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  are  a  few,  even  among  the  lowest,  who  are  always 
"  cramming  for  a  higher  stand." 


594  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

This  matter  of  rank  in  scholarship,  however,  is  not 
one  which  excites  any  vital  interest  in  college.  Stand, 
in  the  abstract,  is  a  thing  which  is  laughed  at  by  the 
great  body  of  the  students,  including  the  good  scholars 
as  well  as  the  poor  ones.  Most  who  receive  appoint 
ments  profess  to  make  light  of  them,  and  the  colloquy 
men  in  particular  are  the  objects  of  much  good-natured 
ridicule  at  the  hands  of  their  friends.  Every  one  is  in 
terested  in  having  every  one  else  keep  "  above  average," 
also  in  guessing  who  the  Valedictorian  will  be,  and  per 
haps  in  remembering  the  names  of  a  few  others  who 
stand  near  the  head  of  the  class ;  but  beyond  this  he 
cares  little  or  nothing  about  the  matter  of  rank,  except 
as  it  concerns  himself.  The  junior  appointments  are 
talked  over  for  a  day  or  two  after  their  announcement, 
and  are  then  forgotten  by  all  but  the  parties  interested. 
Ask  a  man  as  to  the  stand  of  any  classmate,  and  he  will 
probably  be  able  to  tell  you  whether  he  belongs  to  the 
upper  (appointment)  or  lower  (non-appointment)  half  of 
the  class,  and  even  to  make  further  vague  approxima 
tions  to  his  rank  ;  but  the  particular  name  which  it  goes 
by  he  will  not  be  likely  to  know.  To  "  talk  stand  " — 
that  is,  to  make  the  rank  and  recitation-marks  of  various 
men  a  topic  for  extended  conversation,  to  seriously  com 
pare  their  "chances,"  and  so  on — is,  in  college  estima 
tion,  to  show  signs  of  a  weak  and  disordered  intellect. 
It  is  making  much  of  trifles  ;  it  is  taking  a  joke  in 
earnest  ;  and  the  number  of  those  who  habitually  indulge 
in  the  practice  is  very  small  indeed.  The  feeling  of 
contempt  for  such  persons,  arises  from  a  general  disbe 
lief  in  stand  as  an  absolute  criterion  of  merit.  The 
larger  part  of  the  college  community  judge  of  ability  in 
other  ways.  One  who  is  in  their  judgment  a  "good 
man,"  they  think  the  more  highly  of  for  being  a  good 
scholar  and  high-stand  man  also ;  but  they  will  not 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  595 

accept  stand  alone  either  as  proof  of  real  scholarship, 
or  as  a  substitute  for  ability  in  other  directions.  To  be 
distinctively  a  "  high-stand  man,"  one  must  have  an 
"oration"  of  some  sort  ;  as  all  the  inferior  grades  are 
commonly  spoken  of  as  "the  low  appointments."  In 
four  recent  classes,  the  appointments  given  out  at  Junior 
Exhibition  and  Commencement  numbered,  respectively, 
in  '66,  49  and  45  ;  in  '67,  59  and  63  ;  in  '68,  74  and  75; 
and  in  '69,  57  and  60.  The  latter  class  graduated  117, 
or  about  a  dozen  more  than  the  average  of  the  others. 
In  '69,  the  three  additional  Commencement  appoint 
ments  were  given  to  men  who  entered  the  class  with 
junior  year,  and  who,  on  account  of  short  connection 
with  the  college,  were  allowed  no  junior  appointments, 
although  their  stands  for  the  term's  work  were  high 
enough  to  deserve  them.  When  a  man  drops  into  a 
lower  class,  he  is  allowed  either  to  begin  with  a  clean 
score,  or  to  be  credited  with  the  stand  won  in  the  class 
with  which  he  was  first  connected. 

Of  more  substantial  value  than  the  places  on  the 
appointment  list  are  the  positions  of  "  Scholars  of  the 
House," — as  the  holders  of  the  various  scholarships  are 
termed,  though  the  name  is  strictly  applicable  only  to 
those  who  are  on  the  oldest  "  foundation."  This  is  the 
scholarship  founded  in  1733  by  Rev.  George  Berkeley, 
D.D.,  dean  of  Derry  and  bishop  of  Cloyne,  in  Ireland, 
who  was  in  other  ways  one  of  the  chief  earlier  patrons 
of  the  college.  Eight  years  before  the  date  mentioned, 
he  conceived  a  project  for  the  establishment  of  a  college 
at  Bermuda  and  issued  a  pamphlet  in  explanation  of  the 
matter, — in  which  pamphlet,  it  may  be  remarked,  were 
included  the  well-known  verses,  "  Westward  the  Star  of 
Empire  takes  its  way,"  etc.  He  then  came  to  America 
with  a  view  of  putting  his  plans  into  execution,  but  after 
a  residence  of  several  years  at  Newport  he  became  con- 


596  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

vincecl  of  their  impracticability,  and  so,  as  a  substitute 
for  his  original  scheme,  decided  to  give  to  Yale  a  deed 
of  his  farm  at  Newport,  "  to  be  held  for  the  encourage 
ment  of  classical  literature."  By  the  conditions  of  the 
bequest,  the  rents  accruing  from  the  farm  are  to  be  ap 
propriated  to  the  maintainance  of  three  students,  who 
shall  be  called  "  Scholars  of  the  House,"  during  the 
three  years  between  their  first  and  second  degrees,  dur 
ing  three-fourths  of  each  of  which  years  they  are  to 
reside  in  New  Haven.  The  examination  is  held  on 
the  6th  of  May,  or  if  that  be  Sunday  on  the  yth,  and 
comprises  two  hours  of  the  forenoon,  devoted  to  the 
Greek  Testament,  Homer's  Iliad,  and  Xenophon's  Cyro- 
psedia,  or  the  first  book  of  Thucydides  ;  and  two  hours 
of  the  afternoon,  devoted  to  Cicero's  Tusculan  Questions, 
Tacitus  (except  the  Annals)  and  Horace.  In  the  year 
1769,  the  farm  was  leased  for  a  term  of  999  years,  at  an 
annual  rent  of  100  oz.  of  silver  for  the  first  20  years,  of 
126  oz.  for  the  30  years  following,  and  thence  to  the 
end  of  the  term  of  240  bushels  of  wheat.  This  has  since 
been  changed  to  $140,  which  is  the  full  amount  paid  to 
each  Berkeleian  scholar,  at  the  rate  of  about  $46  a  year. 
Of  course  there  could  be  but  one  scholar  from  each 
class,  upon  this  foundation,  did  each  comply  with  the 
condition  of  residence  for  the  full  term,  but  as  there  are 
frequent  failures  in  this  respect,  in  many  classes  there 
have  been  two  or  three  or  even  four  "  Berkeleians."  In 
all  there  have  been  240  such  scholars,  or  an  average  of 
about  two  to  a  class,  since  in  twenty  classes  no  scholar 
ships  were  taken.  The  funds  accruing  from  such 
vacancies,  or  from  forfeiture  by  non-residence,  have  been 
partly  expended,  as  stated,  in  the  support  of  additional 
scholars,  and  partly  in  conferring  premiums  for  Latin 
composition.  In  the  old  times,  the  scholarship  was 
called  "  the  dean's  bounty/'  and  the  incumbent  of  it 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  597 

"  the  dean's  scholar  " ;  and  an  old  manuscript  volume 
is  in  possession  of  the  college  in  which  are  inscribed  the 
autographs  of  all  the  scholars,  and  recipients  of  the  lesser 
premiums,  up  to  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Formerly 
there  were  many  contestants  for  this  "  bounty,"  but  in 
these  days  the  competition  is  very  slight,  and  a  Theo- 
logue  usually  carries  off  the  prize.  In  the  published 
lists  of  "  Berkeleians,"  no  indication  is  made  of  the 
ones  who  earned  the  full  amount  of  the  "  bounty  "  by  a 
three  years'  residence ;  but  they  probably  do  not  com 
prise  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  entire  number.  Berkeley, 
to  whom  his  friend  Pope  ascribed  "  every  virtue  under 
heaven,"  was  born  in  Kilkenny  in  1684  and  died  at 
Oxford  in  1753.  The  collection  of  1000  books  which 
he  gave  the  college,  when  he  abandoned  his  Bermuda 
project,  in  1733,  was  said  to  be  the  finest  which,  up  to 
that  period,  had  been  brought  to  America  at  any  one 
time,  and  was  valued  at  nearly  £500  sterling. 

The  next  scholarship  in  the  college  was  founded 
nearly  a  century  after  the  learned  bishop's  donation,  and 
by  a  very  different  sort  of  a  person — Sheldon  Clark,  a 
farmer,  who  was  born  at  Oxford,  a  small  town  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  Haven,  January  31,  1785,  and  died 
there  April  10,  1840.  At  the  age  of  26 — by  the  death 
of  his  grandfather,  on  whom  he  had  been  dependent, 
and  by  whose  penuriousness  he  had  been  prevented 
from  getting  a  liberal  education — he  was  left  heir  to  a 
moderate  estate,  and  came  up  to  New  Haven  to  gain 
what  advantage  he  might  from  intercourse  with  the  col 
lege  professors  and  attendance  upon  their  lectures. 
After  holding  this  half-way  connection  with  the  college 
for  a  short  time,  he  went  back  to  his  farm,  and  ever 
after  lived  very  economically,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
laying  up  money  that  should  cause  his  name  to  be  re 
membered  as  a  promoter  of  learning.  "  He  read  and 


598  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

thought  constantly,  and  wrote  much,  especially  on  moral 
questions,  and  was  excessively  fond  of  argumentation. 
Some  of  his  productions  were  printed.  He  was  widely 
respected,  and  was  several  times  elected  to  the  State 
Legislature."  In  1823,  June  10,  after  a  year  spent  in 
arranging  details,  he  gave  to  the  college  $5000,  to  be 
placed  at  compound  interest  for  24  years,  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  professorship.  This  he  afterwards  decided 
should  be  that  of  Moral  Philosophy  and  Metaphysics ; 
and  accordingly,  in  1846,  when  the  endowment  was  com 
pleted,  the  present  incumbent  was  elected  to  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  that  chair.  But  it  \vas  in  September,  1824, 
that  the  "  Clark  scholarships"  were  commenced,  by  the 
gift  of  $1000,  to  be  placed  at  compound  interest  for  24 
years,  dating  from  June  10,  of  that  year.  In  1848, 
$4000  of  the  sum  resulting  was  to  be  set  apart  for  the 
support  of  two  equal  scholarships.  "  The  best  scholar 
in  the  senior  class  was  to  be  chosen  by  a  special  exami 
nation,  cases  of  equal  merit  being  determined  by  lot, 
and  was  to  enjoy  the  interest  of  $2000  for  two  years, 
upon  condition  of  pursuing  a  course  of  study  (not  pro 
fessional),  under  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  and  of 
residing  in  New  Haven  nine  months  each  year.  If  no 
scholarship  was  conferred,  the  income  was  to  be  appro 
priated  for  premiums  for  the  encouragement  of  English 
Composition,  or  other  branches  of  learning  among  the 
undergraduates"  ;  the  corporation,  however,  were  to  be 
allowed  to  exercise  their  own  discretion  in  making 
changes  in  all  these  regulations ;  but  thus  far  the  direc 
tions  of  the  donor,  as  just  indicated,  have  been  strictly 
followed.  Every  class,  from  '48  to  '71,  has  had  its 
"  Clark  scholar,"  though  in  many,  perhaps  half,  of  these 
cases  he  has  not  resided  in  New  Haven  and  been  "  on 
the  foundation"  for  more  than  a  single  year,  and  hence 
a  large  surplus  has  been  derived  from  the  fund  for  dis- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  599 

tribution  in  the  shape  of  minor  premiums  for  various 
things.  By  his  will,  this  patron  of  the  college  also  gave 
it  the  bulk  of  his  property,  consisting  of  $7000  in  money, 
and  400  acres  of  land,  valued  at  as  much  more.  This, 
however,  cannot  be  sold,  and  brings  an  annual  rent  of 
$500.  To  his  other  gifts  should  be  added  that  of  a  tel 
escope,  worth  $1200,  to  replace  the  one  lost  in  1822  by 
the  shipwreck  of  the  "Albion."  Of  the  22  who  have 
enjoyed  the  Clark  scholarship,  in  the  classes  '48  to  '69 
(excluding  the  first  or  honorary  winner  of  it  in  the  class 
of  '60),  the  society  connections  were,  in  freshman  year, 
13  with  Delta  Kap,  7  with  Sigma  Eps,  and  2  with 
Gamma  Nu ;  in  junior  year,  6  with  Delta  Phi,  5  with 
Psi  U,  and  4  with  DKE  ;  while  7  were  neutrals.  In 
senior  year,  n  of  them  were  neutrals,  10  were  Bones 
men,  and  one  was  a  Digger. 

Third  upon  the  list  is  the  "Bristed  scholarship,"  which 
was  founded  in  1848  by  Charles  Astor  Bristed  of  '39, 
and  which  yields  an  annual  income  of  about  $100.  The 
examination,  which  must  begin  within  three  weeks  after 
the  opening  of  the  third  term,  and  must  be  open  to  any 
member  of  the  junior  or  sophomore  class,  extends 
through  a  period  of  three  days,  embracing  six  sessions 
of  three  hours  each.  It  "  shall  consist  chiefly  of  printed 
papers  to  be  answered  in  writing  •  the  viva  voce  part 
shall  not  be  more  than  one  eighth,  and  the  classical 
papers  shall  count  twice  as  much  as  the  mathematical. 
The  former  shall  include  extracts  from  Homer,  Cicero, 
Virgil,  Horace,  Catullus,  and  Lucretius,  with  critical 
questions  on  the  passages  set,  and  translation  from 
English  prose  into  Latin  prose ;  and  may  include  ex 
tracts  from  other  classical  authors,  questions  in  Ancient 
History,  and  translation  from  English  prose  into  Greek 
prose,  at  the  option  of  the  examiners,  but  no  original 
composition  in  Latin  or  Greek.  The  mathematical 


6oo  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

papers  shall  always  include  three  propositions  in  Euclid, 
taken  from  the  first  four  books  and  the  sixth  book. 
The  scholarship  shall  be  tenable  till  the  regular  time  of 
taking  the  degree  of  M.A.,  one  third  of  the  annual  pay 
ment  to  be  forfeited  by  non  residence  in  New  Haven. 
The  scholar  shall  not  be  deprived  of  his  scholarship  for 
any  offense  short  of  one  involving  expulsion,  but  if  rus 
ticated  or  suspended  shall  forfeit  the  proceeds  during 
the  time  of  his  rustication  or  suspension  ;  and  all  forfeits 
shall  be  added  to  the  principal  sum.  In  case  of  equal 
ity,  the  examiners  may  divide  the  scholarship,  or  hold  a 
new  examination  between  the  equal  candidates.  The 
examiners  shall  be  the  president,  the  professor  of  Greek, 
Latin  or  Mathematics,  and  one  M.A.  of  Yale  or  Colum 
bia,  to  be  appointed  by  the  founder  during  his  lifetime, 
and  after  his  death  by  the  faculty."  In  the  six  examina 
tions  thus  far  held,  the  "M.A.  appointed  by  the  founder" 
has  always  been  himself;  and  it  is  said  that  he  some 
times,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  examination,  if  pleased 
with  the  efforts  of  the  contestants,  invites  them  all  to 
dine  with  him  at  the  hotel.  At  the  last  examination, 
which  occurred  in  May,  1869,  tne  prize  was  won  by  a 
Sophomore  of  '71,  over  the  four  Juniors  who  were  his 
competitors.  The  six  other  winners  of  the  scholarship 
(there  were  two  of  them  given  in  the  first  class)  belonged 
to  the  classes  of  '50,  '54,  '58,  '63  and  '66,  and  those  in 
the  last  two  classes  at  least  were  also  Sophomores. 
The  average  time  of  holding  the  scholarship  has  been 
four  years  for  each  individual.  The  society  statistics  of 
the  7  Bristed  men  are :  Delta  Kap  5  and  Gamma  Nu  2, 
Delta  Phi  3  and  DKE  2,  Bones  4  and  Keys  i. 

The  "  freshman  scholarships,"  however,  are  the  ones 
which  excite  by  fur  the  keenest  competition.  From  20 
to  25  contestants  enter  the  examinations,  while  for  the 
other  scholarships  there  are  seldom  more  than  a  half 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  601 

dozen  competitors.  The  "  first  freshman  scholarship," 
as  it  is  called  in  the  catalogue,  is  popularly  known  as 
"  the  Woolsey,"  having  been  founded  by  President 
Woolsey  on  his  accession  to  the  office  in  1846.  He 
then  gave  $1000,  and  repeated  the  gift  in  each  of  the 
three  following  years,  making  four  separate  scholarships, 
which,  in  the  official  list  of  awards,  are  simply  men 
tioned  as  the  "  scholarship  of  1846,"  or  '47,  or  '48,  or 
'49,  as  the  case  may  be.  As  each  scholarship  is  held 
for  four  years,  of  course  one  is  awarded  to  every  fresh- 
man  class,  and  this  is  called  the  "  first  freshman  scholar 
ship  by  the  faculty,  and  "  the  Woolsey  "  by  the  students, 
without  any  regard  to  the  year  of  its  foundation.  "  Its 
income,  $60  a  year,  is  awarded  to  the  student  in  each 
freshman  class  who  passes  the  best  examination  in 
Latin  composition  (excellence  in  which  is  essential  to 
success),  in  the  Greek  of  the  year,  and  in  the  solution  of 
algebraic  problems.  The  successful  candidate  receives 
the  annuity,  under  certain  conditions  [of  studying  the 
Calculus  in  Junior  year,  maintaining  a  good  character, 
and  a  high  stand  in  all  his'  studies],  during  the  four 
years  of  his  college  course.  The  student  who  stands 
second  at  this  examination  receives  for  one  year  the 
income  of  the  '  Hurlbut  Scholarship,'  and  the  student 
who  stands  third,  the  income  for  one  year  of  the  ( third 
freshman  scholarship,' — the  amount  being  $60  in  each 
case."  The  "  Hurlbut  scholarship  "  was  established  by 
a  New  York  merchant  of  that  name,  and  was  first 
awarded  in  the  class  of  '63,  though  in  the  seven  prece 
ding  classes  the  Freshman  second  in  rank  at  the 
Woolsey  examination  had  been  allowed  a  premium  of 
$25  or  $30  from  the  Clark  fund.  The  "  third  fresh 
man  scholarship  "  was  established  by  Charles  M.  Runk 
of '45,  and  was  first  awarded  in  the  class  of '68.  There 
were  two  Woolsey  men  in  '64,  and  (excluding  the  second 

27 


602  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

incumbent  of  the  scholarship  in  '59)  there  have  there 
fore  been  25  of  these  scholars  in  the  classes  '50  to  '73. 
Of  this  number,  Sigma  Eps  had  9,  Delta  Kap  8,  and 
Gamma  Nu  8  ;  Delta  Phi  7,  Psi  U  7,  DKE  5,  and  6 
were  junior  neutrals  ;  Bones  14,  and  Keys  and  Diggers 
one  each.  Of  the  20  "  Hurlbut  men,"  '56  to  '73,  Sigma 
Eps  had  4,  Delta  Kap  6,  and  Gamma  Nu  10  ;  Delta  Phi 
9,  Psi  U  5,  DKE  2,  and  4  were  junior  neutrals  ;  Bones 
6  and  Keys  3.  Besides  the  three  scholarships  which  are 
open  to  the  Freshmen  each  year,  "  Berkeley  premiums  " 
for  excellence  in  Latin  composition,  and  "  Clark  pre 
miums  "  for  excellence  in  mathematics,  are  commonly 
awarded  to  a  few  deserving  ones  who  fail  to  obtain  the 
more  important  honors.  Prizes  are  also  often  given  to 
those  who  stand  second  in  rank  at  the  Berkeley,  Clark 
and  Bristed  examinations.  The  "modern  languages 
scholarship,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  catalogue,  "  was 
founded  by  the  late  William  W.  DeForest,  of  New 
York  City.  Its  income,  $120  a  year,  is  awarded 
annually  to  such  scholar,  graduate  or  undergraduate,  as 
the  faculty  may  elect,  giving  the  preference  to  one  who 
shall  pursue  the  study  of  the  modern  languages."  The 
first  award  was  made  on  Presentation  Day  of  '69,  and 
the  recipients  thus  far  have  been  undergraduates  just 
completing  their  sophomore  year.  The  faculty  have 
authority,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  president,  to  use 
the  income  of  this  fund  to  increase  the  salary  of.  the 
professor  of  modern  languages. 

This  completes  the  list  of  the  "Scholars  of  the 
House  •"  but  in  addition  to  the  honored  occupants  of 
that  metaphorical  edifice,  there  are  several  other  less 
famous  "scholars"  who  gain  support  from  certain 
"  beneficiary  funds."  The  chief  of  these  is  called  the 
"  Harmer  Foundation  of  Scholarships,"  which  was 
established  in  1858  by  Thomas  Harmer  Johns  of  '18, 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  603 

and  now  amounts  to  $10,825.  It  comprises  six  scholar 
ships,  yielding  each  $100  a  year,  to  be  given  to  deserving 
students  of  small  means."  "There  are  also  twelve 
other  scholarships,  most  of  them  yielding  $60  a  year, 
which  may  be  given  to  such  students  as  shall  be  selected 
by  the  founders  or  by  the  faculty."  Furthermore,  "  a  sum 
somewhat  exceeding  $5000,  derived  partly  from  perma 
nent  charitable  funds,  is  annually  applied  by  the  cor 
poration  for  the  relief  of  students  who  need  pecuniary 
aid,  especially  of  those  preparing  for  the  ministry. 
About  seventy  thus  have  their  tuition  ($90)  either 
wholly  or  in  part  remitted."  In  this  sum  is  included 
the  income  of  the  "  DeForest  fund,"  which  was  com 
menced  in  1823.  On  September  12  of  that  year,  David 
C.  DeForest,  of  New  Haven,  gave  to  the  college  $5000, 
which  was  to  be  allowed  to  accumulate  until  January  i, 
1852,  when  it  would  amount  to  about  $26,000  ;  and 
from  that  time  forth  $1000,  or  about  two-thirds  of  the 
annual  income,  was  to  be  each  year  expended  "  in  the 
education  and  support  at  Yale  College,  or  the  university 
that  may  grow  out  of  it," — first,  of  the  descendants  of 
the  donor  and  his  brothers ;  or  secondly,  in  default  of 
them,  "  of  others  of  the  name  of  DeForest,  giving 
preference  to  the  next  of  kin  of  the  donor  ; "  or,  lastly, 
in  default  of  them,  "of  young  men  in  indigent  circum 
stances,  and  of  good  talents,  who  are  willing  to  assume 
the  name  of  DeForest."  It  is  the  latter  class  who 
have  chiefly  taken  advantage  of  the  fund.  Though  the 
donor  "calculated  that  his  provision  of  $1000  would 
support  and  educate  four  scholars  in  each  year,"  there 
has  usually  been  no  more  than  a  single  person  sustained 
by  the  fund  at  any  one  time.  But,  as  the  absurd  con 
dition  requiring  the  change  of  name,  which  naturally 
repelled  very  many,  has  recently  been  removed,  by 
securing  the  consent  of  all  the  heirs  at  law  of  the  donor, 


604  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

it  is  likely  that  a  larger  number  of  "  scholars  "  will  take 
advantage  of  it  hereafter. 

Premiums,  for  the  best  Translations  from  Latin  into 
English,  were  given  out  at  the  close  of  the  first  and  sec 
ond  freshman  terms  for  ten  years  or  more,  ending  with 
the  class  of  '55,  and  had  been  known  of  as  early  as  '30. 
The  system  was  somewhat  similar  to  that  employed  in 
distributing  the  English  Composition  premiums,  shortly 
to  be  described;  that  is  to  say,  a  first,  second  and  third 
prize  was  given  to  each  of  the  three  divisions,  every 
man  was  obliged  to  write,  and  the  prices  were  very  fre 
quently  split.  "  According  to  the  conditions  of  Bishop 
Berkeley's  will,"  says  a  writer  of  thirty  years  ago,  "prizes 
are  adjudged  to  those  who  excel  in  Latin  Composition. 
Each  class  has  an  opportunity  of  contending  twice  for 
this  prize, — at  the  close  of  both  the  second  freshman 
and  sophomore  terms.  The  merit  of  the  pieces  decides 
the  number  of  those  who  receive  it,  and  the  amount  of 
money  conferred  upon  each  individual  depends  upon 
this  number, — a  fixed  sum  being  divided  among  all  the 
successful  candidates.  Usually  from  eight  to  twelve 
receive  this  prize,  and  the  amount  of  money  conferred 
upon  each  varies  from  five  to  ten  dollars."  In  '54  and 
the  two  classes  following,  a  third  trial  was  given, — at  the 
close  of  the  second  junior  term.  The  last  of  this  unin 
terrupted  series  of  prizes  were  conferred  in  the  summer 
of  1855, — to  the  Juniors  of  '56,  the  Sophomores  of  '57, 
and  the  Freshmen  of  '58.  Two  years  later,  "Berke- 
leians"  were  again  awarded  to  '57,  '58  and  '59,  and  once 
more,  in  1859,  to  the  four  classes,  '59,  '60,  '61  and  '62. 
In  some  instances,  the  recipients  of  this  premium  were 
divided  into  two  sections,  though  usually  they  were 
ranked  equally  together. 

Various  miscellaneous  awards  are  made  from  time  to 
time  from  the  unappropriated  income  of  the  "  Clark 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  605 

scholarship"  fund, — as  for  excellence,  which  just  falls 
short  of  success,  at  a  scholarship  examination  ;  for 
special  improvement  in,  and  acquaintance  with,  a  par 
ticular  study ;  for  an  elaborate  classical  essay  (as  in  '67 
and  '69),  and  so  on.  To  the  Juniors  of  '53,  were  given 
six  prizes, — a  first  and  second  in  each  division, — for 
English  Disputations  ;  and  to  each  of  the  next  three 
classes,  a  first  and  second  prize  for  the  best  examination 
on  the  Latin  of  the  second  term  junior:  three  similar 
prizes  were  also  awarded  to  '58.  But  the  regular  "  Clark 
premiums"  are  "  for  the  solution  of  problems  in  Practi 
cal  Astronomy,''  and  have  been  offered  to  the  Seniors 
of  every  class  from  '53  to  '71  ;  though  in  the  six  classes 
ending  with  '65  there  were  no  competitors  for  them, — 
at  least  no  successful  ones.  The  amount  of  about  $30 
is  offered,  and  is' sometimes  (as  in  '68)  taken  by  a  single 
individual ;  more  commonly  is  divided  between  two,  and 
sometimes  between  three,  —  in  which  latter  case  the 
usual  proportion  is  $12,  $10  and  $8, — but  almost  every 
contestant  who  does  reasonably  well  is  certain  of  receiv 
ing  something,  as  the  number  of  his  rivals  is  naturally 
quite  small.  "The  'senior  mathematical  prizes'  (the 
first  consisting  of  a  gold  medal  of  the  value  of  $10  and 
a  like  amount  of  money,  the  second  of  $10  in  money 
alone)  are  offered  to  the  Seniors  for  the  best  solutions  of 
problems  in  both  abstract  and  concrete  mathematics." 
They  were  first  awarded  in  '56.  The  second  prize  has 
in  one  case  been  divided,  in  one  case  awarded  to  the 
winner  of  the  first  prize,  and  in  three  cases  has  not 
been  awarded  at  all.  For  thirty  years  and  more,  "  prizes 
for  the  solution  of  mathematical  problems  have  been 
given  out  during  the  third  term  to  both  the  freshman 
and  sophomore  classes.  These  problems  are  prepared 
by  the  professor  of  mathematics,  and  are  frequently  of 
so  difficult  a  nature  that  few  in  the  class  can  solve  them- 


606  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Those  who  solve  all  the  problems  are  very  sure  of  receiv 
ing  a  prize,  and  .when  the  number  of  these  is  small  those 
who  have  not  solved  quite  all  of  them  not  unfrequently 
receive  prizes."  In  the  old  times,  three  prizes  were 
always  given,  and  as  many  as  six  or  ten  persons  shared 
them ;  now,  as  a  rule,  two  only  are  offered,  neither  of 
which  are  commonly  divided.  The  usual  value  of  the 
prizes  is  $5,  $4  and  $3. 

The  Sophomore  Prize  Declamations  were  introduced 
with  the  class  of  '55.  The  old  mode  of  deciding  the 
awards,  which  '69  was  the  last  class  to  be  acquainted 
with,  was  as  follows:  Each  man  declaimed  twice  in  the 
Chapel — once  in  the  second  term  and  once  in  the  third 
—before  the  instructor  of  Elocution  and  the  professor 
of  Rhetoric,  who  together  decided  upon  the  merit  of 
his  exhibition  in  each  case,  and  by  joining  the  two  marks 
decided  whether  or  not  he  deserved  a  prize.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  whole  class  were  obliged  to  attend 
these  declamation  exercises,  which  were  held  on  Wednes 
day  noons,  and  a  few  upper-class  men  also  in  rare  cases 
sauntered  in  to  the  show.  To  each  division,  a  first, 
second,  and  third  prize  was  awarded,  and  as  there  were 
always  three — or,  as  in  '69,  four — divisions,  and  as  the 
prizes  were  very  often  split,  the  number  of  persons 
receiving  honors  varied  from  nine  to  sixteen  or  more. 
In  '63  no  declamations  of  the  sort  were  held.  In  '70 
was  introduced  the  new  arrangement  whereby,  in  place 
of  giving  prizes  to  the  divisions,  the  two  conductors  of 
the  chapel  declamations  decide — from  hearing  the  two 
pieces  of  each  man — upon  a  dozen  individuals  as  the 
"  best  speakers  of  the  class."  On  the  Tuesday  evening 
before  Commencement,  the  chosen  twelve  engage  in  a 
public  declamation  in  the  Chapel,  for  three  prizes, — the 
awards  being  made  by  a  committee  chosen  from  the 
audience,  who  have  thus  far  split  each  prize  in  two. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  607 

Printed  programmes,  containing  the  names  of  speakers 
and  speeches,  are  supplied,  and  everything  else  is  done 
to  make  the  exhibition  an  attractive  feature  of   Com 
mencement  week.     The  attempt  to  arouse  much  enthusi 
asm  or  interest  in  the  affair  has  not  yet  been  very  suc 
cessful,  however ;  the  attendance  both  from  town  and 
college  has  been  quite  small ;  and  it  seems  not  unlikely 
that  before  long  a  return  will  have  to  be  made  to  the 
old  plan,  or  some  new  scheme  resorted  to,  for  the  allot 
ment  of  these  prizes.     The  speakers  at  the  exhibitions, 
like    those   at   the   ordinary  chapel    declamations,   are 
allowed  to  select  their  own  pieces,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  instructor  to  whom  they  rehearse,  but  the  selections 
must  always  be  in  prose,  unless  for  exceptional  reasons 
special  permission  is  given  for  a  metrical  declamation. 
The  professor  of  Rhetoric  presides  at  the  exhibition,  and 
calls  off  the  names  of  the  speakers,  whose  places  upon 
the  programmes  are,  as  usual,  decided  by  lot  in  advance. 
But  the  prizes  which  excite  the  most  general  compe 
tition   are    those  offered  the   Sophomores  for  English 
Composition.     These  have  been  awarded  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  and  are  generally  given  in  the  name  of  the 
college,  though  the  money  has  often  been  derived  in 
part  or  wholly  from  the  Clark  fund,  and  they  are  in  some 
cases  offered  as  the  "  Clark  prizes."     About  a  month 
before  the  end  of  the  first  and  second  terms,  the  "  sub 
jects  for  prize  compositions  "  are  given  out  to  the  class, 
by  the  professor  of  Rhetoric,  who  in  the  first  instance 
makes  a  short  address  in  regard  to  the  sort  of  writing 
which  he  wishes  to  encourage.     The  subjects  are  five  or 
six  in  number,  and  are  in  some  instances  all  chosen  by 
himself;  in  other  instances  each  instructor  of  the  class, 
of  whom  he  is  not  one,  suggests  one  of  them.     Those 
offered  to  '69,  in  the  first  term,  were:   " Wolf's  Recita 
tion  of  'Gray's  Elegy,'"  "the  Council  of  Fallen  Spirits 


608  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

in  'Paradise  Lost,'"  "the  Benefits  of  Traveling,"  "the 
Law  of  Decay  in  Nations,"  "  Our  Duty  as  Neighbors  to 
Mexico ;"  and  in  the  second  term  :  "  Robinson  Crusoe," 
"  Daniel  Webster/'  "  Attainments  by  Indirection/'  "  the 
Impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings,"  "the  Superiority 
of  British  over  American  Novelists."  These  titles  of 
course  serve  as  fair  examples  of  those  offered  to  other 
classes. 

About  a  month  is  given  in  which  to  write,  and  on  or 
before  the  last  day  of  the  term  every  man  in  the  class 
must    hand    in    to    his    division-master    a    composition 
devoted  to  one  or  another  of  the  assigned  subjects.    The 
division-master,  after  reading  these,  selects  a  half  dozen, 
more  or  less,  which  seem  to  be  the  most  meritorious, 
and  hands  them  over  for  the  perusal  of  the  professor  of 
Rhetoric,  with  whom  rests  the  final  award  of  the  prizes, 
though  he  may  consult  with  the  class  officers  in  making 
up  his  decision.     A  first,   second,   and   third  prize   is 
given  to  each  division,  making  nine  or  twelve  prizes  in 
all,  according  to  the  size  of  the  class  ;  but,  as  many  of 
the  awards  are  split  in   two,  the  number  who  receive 
honors  of  tin's  sort  is  ofttimes  considerably  increased. 
Every  man,  it  is  seen,  is  obliged  to  hand  in  a  composi 
tion  of  some  sort,  but   it  is  probable  that  as  many  as 
two-thirds,  or  even  more,  of  the  class  really  "do  their 
best,"  that  is,  write  with  a  hope  of  getting  a  prize  there 
by, — at  least  on  the  first  occasion.     In  the  second  term, 
when  the  "good  writers"  get  to  be  generally  known, 
the  unsuccessful  ones  compete  with  them  less  generally 
and  less  courageously  ;    and  the  sharpest  rivalry  is  be 
tween   the   "  good   writers "   themselves,  who   strive  to 
keep  good  or  to  better  their  previously  won  reputations. 
To  win  a  Composition  prize,  even  a  low  one,  is  accounted 
quite  an  honor;    while  the  "first-prize  men"  become 
famous  through  all  college,  and  enjoy  a  celebrity  far 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  609 

more  general  and  lasting  than  that  accorded  to  the 
"scholars"  and  "high-stand  men"  who  are  not  also 
"  writers." 

The  awards  for  the  first  term's  compositions  are  not 
announced  until  about  a  month  before  the  close  of  the 
second  term,  or  at  about  the  time  when  the  new  subjects 
are  given  out ;  and  the  prizes  for  compositions  upon 
these  latter  are  not  announced  until  Presentation  Day. 
A  prize  of  $5  for  the  best  English  Poem  upon  an  as 
signed  subject,  was  also  awarded  in  nine  of  the  thirteen 
classes,  '57  to  '69.  It  has  not  been  offered  since  then, 
and  perhaps  the  idea  of  thus  encouraging  the  Muses  has 
been  permanently  abandoned.  In  two  instances  the 
prize  was  divided  ;  but  only  three  of  the  eleven  who 
received  it  ultimately  became  the  poets  of  their  classes. 
The  prize  was  open  to  the  competition  of  the  entire 
class,  without  regard  to  divisions,  and  the  subject  was 
announced  with  the  other  ones  of  the  second  term.  The 
successful  poem  was  almost  always  published  in  the 
///.,  as  were  also  a  large  share  of  the  first-prize  compo 
sitions.  Latterly  the  latter  practice  has  been  mostly 
abandoned,  owing  to  the  outcries  made  against  it  by 
the  readers  of  that  magazine. 

The  system  of  awarding  prizes,  though  described  in 
the  present  tense,  was  last  applied  to  the  class  of  '70, 
after  having  been  in  vogue  from  time  immemorial.  The 
plan  now  employed,  which  has  been  generally  accepted 
as  a  great  improvement  upon  the  old  one,  and  which 
bids  fair  to  be  permanently  retained,  was  first  tried  in 
'71,  and  is  as  follows  :  First,  second,  and  third  prizes — 
either  three  of  each  or  four  of  each — are  offered  to  the 
entire  class,  without  regard  to  divisions,  and  hence  there 
is  no  necessity  or  excuse  for  splitting  any  of  the  awards. 
The  advantages  of  bringing  each  man  in  competition 
with  the  whole  of  his  class,  instead  of  his  own  division 

27* 


6lQ  FOUR    Y&ARS  AT 

simply,  are  obvious,  and  the  change  from  the  old  system 
was  made  a  necessity  by  the  change  in  the  old  alpha 
betical  arrangement  of  the  divisions,  since  it  would 
hardly  be  fair  to  offer  the  poor  scholars  of  the  lower 
divisions  the  same  amount  of  prize  money  given  the 
good  scholars  of  the  higher  ones,  as  presumably  a  larger 
share  of  the  "  good  writers  "  in  the  class  would  be  found 
among  the  latter.  Experience  has  proved  the  presump 
tion  to  be  a  correct  one,  as  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  prizes  thus  far  awarded  have  fallen  to  members  of 
the  first  division.  Under  the  old  arrangement,  the 
money  value  of  the  premiums  for  Composition  and 
Declamation  was  about  $4  for  first,  $3  for  second  and 
$2  for  third  prizes  ;  but  as  the  number  of  awards  has 
diminished  it  is  probable  that  their  value  has  propor 
tionately  increased. 

With  the  class  of  '68  was  introduced  the  practice  of 
giving  to  the  Seniors,  "for  excellence  in  the  compo 
sitions  of  the  year,"  a  dozen  or  fourteen  prizes,  divided 
equally  into  first  and  second.  The  names  are  announced 
in  the  order  of  merit,  but  in  the  official  lists  arc  published 
alphabetically, — all  members  who  come  under  the  same 
general  rank  being  considered  equal.  It  will  be  re 
membered  that  each  Senior  writes  two  compositions  in 
each  of  the  first  two  terms,  and  upon  the  average  merit 
of  these  four  productions  the  awards  are  determined. 
These  have  thus  far  been  simply  "  honorary  mentions," 
no  real  prize  money  having  been  paid  \  and  on  this 
account,  as  well  as  because  a  Senior  has  already  "  made 
his  reputation "  and  does  not  care  to  strive  for  any 
commonplace  honor,  little  or  no  exertion  is  called  out 
by  these  "  prizes."  Whatever  little  interest  is  centered 
upon  the  award  depends  upon  its  being  held  as  in  some 
way  an  indicator  of  the  "  chances  "  of  various  men  for 
receiving  the  highest  literary  honors  of  college, — the 
Townsend  Premiums. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  611 

These  were  established  by  Isaac  H.  Townsend  of '22, 
who  died  in  1847,  after  having  served  for  a  year  as  pro 
fessor  in  the  Law  School,  in  which  he  allowed  a  flourish 
ing  private  law  school  of  his  own  to  become  absorbed, — 
by  the  gift  of  $1000,  made  to  the  college  August  10, 
1843.  The  annual  income  of  this  amount  was  to  be 
paid  out  in  five  premiums  of  $12  each,  "to  the  authors 
in  the  senior  class  of  the  best  original  compositions  in 
the  English  language."  The  subjects  were  to  be  chosen 
and  the  awards  made  by  the  faculty  or  by  a  committee 
appointed  by  them,  though  they  might,  at  their  discre 
tion,  allow  a  writer  to  choose  his  own  subject.  "  All 
compositions  receiving  premiums  shall  be  read  in  public, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  college,  and,  as  far 
as  practicable,  by  their  respective  authors,  and  shall 
then  be  preserved  among  the  papers  of  the  college." 
The  first  "reading"  was  held  in  the  chapel,  Wednesday, 
June  5,  1844,  and  regularly  at  a  corresponding  period 
thereafter  until  1852,  when  it  was  superseded  by  the 
"  DeForest  speaking,"  in  the  manner  soon  to  be  de 
scribed.  The  donor  advised  that  the  subjects  be  an 
nounced  "  near  the  beginning  of  each  academic  year," 
but  the  practice  has  gradually  changed,  so  that  at 
present  it  is  customary  to  delay  giving  them  out  until 
the  day  when  the  Seniors  hand  in  their  Commencement 
pieces,  which  is  the  last  Tuesday  of  the  second  term, — 
the  day  before  Junior  Exhibition.  At  the  season  re 
ferred  to,  the  professor  of  Rhetoric  hands  to  all  appli 
cants  a  printed  sheet  containing  the  subjects  —  four  or 
five  in  number — and  directions  as  to  the  time  and 
manner  of  handing  in  the  compositions  written  there 
upon.  The  time  allowed  for  preparation  is  about  seven 
weeks,  and  the  rule  for  handing  them  in  is'  that  they 
shall  be  presented  by  some  one  other  than  the  writer, 
and  shall  be  signed  simply  with  a  pseudonym  or  motto. 


612  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  professor  often  recog 
nizes  the  authorship  of  the  various  productions,  from 
his  previous  knowledge  of  the  handwriting  and  l '  style  " 
of  their  owners,  though  sometimes  the  chirography  is  that 
of  a  copyist  and  not  of  the  author.  The  award  is  quietly 
announced  about  a  week  after  the  pieces  are  handed  in. 
In  the  case  of  '69,  the  subjects  were  announced  April  6, 
the  pieces  were  handed  in  May  26,  the  result  was 
announced  June  3,  and  the  "speaking"  was  held  June 
28.  There  were  17  competitors,  and  of  the  6  successful 
ones,  3 — including  the  "  DeForest  Man  " — wrote  upon 
"  Milton,  Jeremy  Taylor  and  Locke,  as  Advocates  of 
Liberty  " ;  2  upon  "  The  Law  of  Benevolence  and  the 
Law  of  Trade  Coincident"  ;  and  i  upon  "Wentworth, 
Earl  of  Stafford."  "  The  Mission  of  Poetry,"  and  "  the 
Growth  of  the  Austrian  House  of  Hapsburg,"  were  the 
two  other  subjects  from  which  choice  could  have  been 
made.  The  award  of  6  instead  of  5  prizes  is  explained 
in  this  wise : 

In  the  bequest  of  David  C.  DeForest,  which  was 
made  in  1823,  as  already  explained,  was  this  second 
condition,  that  on  and  after  the  year  1852,  "a  gold 
medal,  of  the  value  of  $100,  to  be  denominated  the 
'DeForest  Prize,'  with  such  inscription  thereon  as  the 
president  may  direct,  shall  be  given  to  that  scholar  of 
the  senior  class  who  shall  write  and  pronounce  an  English 
oration  in  the  best  manner,  on  some  day  either  in  the 
months  of  May  or  June,  in  each  year ; — the  president 
and  professors  being  judges  and  every  member  of  the 
senior  class  a  candidate  for  the  prize."  Accordingly,  in 
1852,  the  faculty  allowed  every  Senior  to  write  an 
"oration"  on  any  subject  he  might  select,  and  hand  it 
in  for  their  approval.  Of  the  productions  so  handed 
in,  several  of  the  best  were  selected,  and  their  writers 
then  declaimed  them  publicly,  in  the  Chapel,  in  compe- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  613 

tition  for  the  prize.  The  Townsend  compositions  were 
also  read  in  public  that  year,  as  usual ;  but  as  all  of 
the  readers  and  most  of  the  compositions  were  identical 
with  the  DeForest  orators  and  orations,  it  was  decided 
on  the  following  year  to  combine  the  two  awards,  agree 
able  to  the  plan  that  has  ever  since  been  in  vogue.  On 
the  principle  that  a  person  capable  of  producing  "  the 
best  oration "  would  also  be  capable  of  producing  one 
of  the  "five  best  compositions,"  it  was  decreed  that 
none  but  winners  of  "  Townsends  "  could  compete  for 
"the  DeForest."  Accordingly,  in  the  manner  stated, 
six  so-called  "Townsends  "  are  awarded,  instead  of  five, 
and  the  six  winners  of  them  then  deliver  their  pieces  in 
the  chapel,  in  competition  for  "the  DeForest"  itself. 
The  one  who  wins  it,  thereby  gives  up  his  claim  to  a 
"  Townsend  premium,"  and  the  $60  is  divided  equally 
among  the  remaining  "five  best  writers,"  after  the  old 
fashion.  The  latter  are  therefore  the  only  real  "  Towns- 
end  men,"  but  the  distinction  between  them  and  the 
winner  of  the  De  Forest  is  not  popularly  regarded.  In 
1852,  a  "Clark  prize  "of  $15  was  given  for  the  second 
best  oration.  In  that  class,  and  in  '54  also,  the  DeForest 
man  really  received  one  of  the  five  Townsends. 

The  afternoon  of  the  Friday  succeeding  Presentation 
was,  up  to  1865,  the  time  for  holding  the  oratorical 
trial,  though  it  sometimes  took  place  on  Thursday  or 
Saturday  ;  from  1866  to  1870,  the  afternoon  of  the  Mon 
day  before  Presentation  was  the  established  date  ;  but 
as  that  day  is  hereafter  appointed  for  July,  another 
change  will  be  necessary.  Hitherto,  as  the  opening 
exercise  of  the  gala  week  of  the  year,  "the  DeForest 
Speaking,"  has  always  attracted  a  very  large  audience  ; 
larger  perhaps  than  it  will  be  likely  to  attract  hereafter 
when  standing  alone  by  itself,— though  while  the  under 
graduates  take  their  present  interest  in  the  exhibition, 


6 14  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

it  will  be  certain  of  securing  for  itself  a  good  attend 
ance.  The  half-dozen  orators  of  the  occasion  are  each 
allowed  but  fifteen  minutes  in  which  to  speak,  and  hence 
the  successful  Townsend  compositions,  which  are  not 
limited  as  to  length,  usually  have  to  be  "  cut  down  " 
considerably  before  being  publicly  delivered.  This  pro 
cess  of  pruning,  memorizing  and  rehearsing,  naturally 
leaves  little  leisure  for  these  aspiring  orators  during  the 
three  weeks  before  the  trial, — a  period  in  which  the 
final  Annual  ("the  examination  for  degrees")  takes 
place,  and  many  other  matters  have  to  be  attended  to. 
The  "  speaking "  commences  at  half-past  two,  and  of 
course  closes  at  four, — the  president  from  the  pulpit 
simply  announcing  the  names  of  the  speakers  in  the  order 
in  which  chance  has  placed  them  upon  the  printed  list ; 
copies  of  which,  bearing  also  the  titles  of  the  speeches, 
are  distributed  among  the  audience  by  the  ushers.  At 
the  close  of  the  last  oration,  the  faculty  retire  to  the 
president's  room,  to  compare  opinions  and  decide  the 
award,  while  the  audience — at  least  the  college  part  of 
it — "hang  about"  the  front  of  the  Chapel,  waiting  for 
the  verdict.  It  comes,  perhaps  in  a  few  minutes,  per 
haps  in  half  an  hour, — the  spokesman  of  the  faculty 
announcing  it  from  the  Chapel  steps.  Then  the  crowd 
cheer,  congratulate  the  DeForest  Man,  settle  up  their 
bets,  and  disperse  in  knots  of  two,  three,  or  a  half-dozen, 
talking  over  the  great  result. 

There  is  no  other  college  award  over  which  there  is 
such  a  general  excitement.  The  position  of  DeForest 
Man  corresponds  in  literary  rank  to  that  of  Valedicto 
rian  in  scholarship,  of  Wooden-Spoon  Man  in  popularity, 
of  Navy  Commodore  in  boating  matters  ;  it  is  the  very 
highest  of  the  literary  honors,  and,  as  these  are  thought 
more  of  than  any  others,  it  may  be  called  the  highest 
honor  of  the  whole  college  course.  It  is  for  this  reason 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  615 

that  the  interest  in  the  Townsend  awards  is  so  keen  • 
and  they  are  no  sooner  announced  than  speculation  at 
once  becomes  rampant  among  the  Seniors  as  to  which 
one  of  the  six  is  to  be  the  great  man  of  their  class. 
"Chances"  are  constantly  talked  over,  bets  made  on 
particular  men,  and  odds  freely  offered  on  a  favorite 
candidate  as  against  "  the  field,"  and  the  reverse, — for 
there  are  generally  one  or  two  between  whom  the  prize 
is  expected  to  fall.  Some  of  the  contestants  themselves 
have  little  or  no  expectation  of  winning  it,  and  speak 
merely  for  the  sake  of  speaking,  and  in  one  or  two  cases 
a  poem  has  been  delivered  in  nominal  competition. 
Prophets  are  not  always  correct,  however,  and  once  in 
a  while  a  man  of  no  special  reputation  as  a  writer  sud 
denly  jumps  into  the  first  place.  < 

It  should  be  remembered  that  each  class  aims  to 
elect  its  "  best  literary  man  "  as  the  orator  to  represent 
it  upon  Presentation  Day,  and  it  has  for  some  time  been 
customary  to  order,  either  by  express  vote  or  by  impli 
cation,  that  neither  the  orator  nor  poet  of  the  class  shall 
compete  for  the  Townsends  and  DeForest,  lest  in  at 
tempting  too  much  they  fail  to  do  their  best  by  the  class 
which  elects  them.  Perhaps  another  reason  for  the  rule 
is  the  natural  hostility  of  a  class  to  having  a  few  of  its 
members  monopolize  all  of  the  highest  honors.  The 
orator  of  '62  was  the  fourth  and  last  to  take  a  DeForest, 
and  the  poet  of  '64  the  last  one  to  take  a  Townsend. 
Between  '52  and  the  times  in  question,  six  of  the  class 
orators  and  five  of  the  poets  had  taken  Townsends  (in 
cluding  in  this  term  the  four  DeForests),  and  in  two 
classes,  '52  and  '57,  both  orator  and  poet  contended  for 
the  prize, — the  orator  in  each  case  getting  it.  In  con 
tradiction  of  the  foregoing,  it  should  be  said  that  the 
class  of  '70,  by  special  vote,  allowed  their  orator  and 
poet  to  compete  for  the  Townsends,  which  both  did,  sue- 


6 : 6  FOUR  YEARS  A  T  YALE. 

cessfully.  In  ?68  and  in  '69,  as  doubtless  in  other 
classes  also,  it  was  generally  conceded  that  the  class- 
orator  could  have  had  the  DeForest,  had  he  chosen  to 
take  it  instead  of  his  own  most  honorable  office.  But 
the  DeForest  Speaking,  spite  of  this  exception,  may 
fairly  enough  be  called  a  representative  exhibition  of 
the  best  literary  talent  of  the  college  ;  and,  whether  it 
be  good  or  bad,  the  faculty  can  point  to  nothing  else 
which  so  well  or  so  creditably  illustrates  the  results  of 
their  rhetorical  teachings. 

o 

The  medal,  "of  the  value  of  $100,  inscribed  as  the 
president  shall  direct,"  is  simply  a  lump  of  gold  worth 
that  amount,  upon  which  are  roughly  scratched  the  words 
"  DeForest  Prize  "  and  the  date.     With  the  exception 
of  the1  '70   orator,   the   only  person  who    has    actually 
accepted  and  preserved   this   "medal"   is   Andrew  D. 
White  of  '53,  president  of  Cornell  University,— all  other 
DeForest  Men  having  preferred  to  turn  the  medal  into 
available  cash  at  once.     All  the  orations,  save  those  of 
'54  and  '55i  Iiave  been  published  in  the  Lit.,  which  also 
printed  all  five  of  the  Townsends  for  several  years  after 
the    first   establishment    of  the   premiums,    and    then 
gradually  lessened  the  number,  until  now  it  publishes 
only  one  of  them,  and  many  subscribers  grudge  even 
the  space  devoted  to  that  one.     The  Courant,   too,  has 
sometimes  printed   a  Townsend.     In   some   cases    the 
oration  is  published  as  originally  written,without  the  omis 
sions  necessitated  by  the  fifteen-minute  rule  of  delivery. 
Of  the   19   DeForest   Men,   '52   to  '70,   9  belonged    to 
Delta  Kap,  6  to  Sigma  Eps,  and  4  to  Gamma  Nu  ;  3  to 
Delta  Phi,    10   to  Psi  U,  4  to  DKE,  and  2  were  junior 
neutrals  ;  10  to  Bones,  4   to  Keys,  and  5  were  senior 
neutrals.     As   already   stated,  four  of  them  were  class 
orators,  four  were  Lit.  editors,  2  were  Cochs,  and  one  of 
these  two  was  a  Valedictorian.     The  latter  unique  com- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  617 

bination  of  college  honors  happened  in  the  class  of  '63, 
and  is  all  the  more  remarkable  on  account  of  that  class 
being  the  largest  but  one  which  was  ever  known  at  Yale. 
It  graduated  122  men. 

Last  year's  official  statement  of  the  "funds,  the  income 
of  which  is  payable  to  students  as  prizes  or  scholarships," 
exhibited  a  total  of  $95,932.44,  divided  as  follows: 
"  Family  scholarship  funds,  income  payable  to  members 
of  certain  families,  $24,167.51  ;  beneficiary  funds,  for 
aid  of  deserving  students  of  small  means,  $51,508.33  ; 
undergraduate  prize  and  scholarship  funds,  income 
given  in  reward  of  excellence,  $13,456.60  ;  graduate 
scholarship  funds,  income  given  in  reward  of  excellence, 
but  payable  after  graduation,  $6,800."  The  average 
amount  annually  paid  to  the  resident  graduate  "scholars" 
is  about  $450,  and  to  the  undergraduate  scholars  and 
prize-takers  of  every  sort,  about  $650,  while  the  bene 
ficiary  awards,  as  already  stated,  amount  annually  to 
upwards  of  $6000.  Of  the  undergraduate  prize-money, 
the  largest  share  faljs  to  the  Seniors,  the  Freshmen  come 
second,  and  the  Sophomores  third,  while  the  Juniors — 
except  very  rarely  a  Bristed — receive  nothing  at  all. 
There  is  no  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  prizes  a  man 
may  take,  except  his  own  ability  to  win  them,  and  it 
therefore  frequently  happens  that  the  same  individual 
holds  two  scholarships  at  once,  as,  for  example,  the 
Woolsey  and  the  Bristed,  the  Bristed  and  the  Clarke  or 
Berkeley,  the  Clarke  and  Berkeley,  and  so  on.  With 
the  few  exceptions  indicated,  all  awards  are  announced 
by  the  president  from  the  chapel  pulpit,  and  all  those 
of  the  third  term,  which  comprise  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number,  at  the  close  of  the  forenoon  exercises  of 
Presentation  Day.  The  rest  are  given  out  at  the  close 
of  the  usual  exercises  of  morning  prayers.  Sometimes 
a  professor  throws  out  in  advance  a  few  private  hints 


618  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

as  to  the  result  of  a  prize  trial,  but  as  a  rule  the  great 
body  of  the  class  get  their  first  information  from  the 
official  announcement. 

To  sum  up  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  effects 
of  the  "honor  system,"  it  appears  that  there  is  little 
rivalry  for  rank  on  the  appointment  list,  except  for  the 
highest  places,  and  that  most  men  who  "  study  for  a 
stand  "  at  all,  aim  at  an  absolute  one,  without  much 
regard  as  to  who  may  rank  above  or  below  them.  A 
stand  lower  than  that  of  "  oration,"  secures  a  man  no 
social  consideration  whatever  among  his  fellows.  It  is 
never  taken  into  account  at  all,  any  more  than  is  the 
low  rank  of  those  who  just  keep  above  average, — for  to 
be  ranked  as  the  poorest  scholar  in  the  class  ensures  no 
social  degradation.  If  such  a  one  be  dull  and  stupid, 
in  recitation  or  out  of  it.  he  may  be  ostracized  on  that 
account  simply,  not  because  of  his  low  stand  ;  but  if  he 
be  one  who  evidently  "could  take  a  stand  were  he  a 
mind  to  "—and  there  are  many  such  in  college— he  may 
be  generally  liked  and  respected.  In  other  words,  col 
lege  judges  a  man's  ability  and  character  by  a  standard 
of  its  own,  with  but  little  regard  to  official  "  marks  "  of 
any  sort.  It  sets  up  the  standard  as  a  sort  of  protest 
against  the  idea  that  any  "  marking  system  "  can  be  made 
an  absolute  and  infallible  test  of  intellect  and  culture, 
however  well  it  may  do  for  purposes  of  general  com 
parison.  It  is  ever  ready  to  deride  a  high-stand  man 
whose  knowledge  of  his  studies  extends  no  further  than 
a  factitious  knack  of  answering  the  questions  which  are 
put  concerning  them,  and  is  equally  prompt  in  exalting 
to  the  utmost  a  low-stand  man  for  his  achievements  in 
other  directions.  Literary  talent— that  is,  ability  to 
write  acceptably— it  values  highly,  and  it  accepts  the 
composition  prizes  as  of  much  greater  worth  than  simple 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  619 

stand  as  real  indications  of  merit     Hence  the  compe 
tition  for  these  and  other  literary  honors  is  the  sharpest 
known  to  the  college.     "  The   gift  of  gab  "  is   thought 
less    of  than    formerly ;    so    that  a  declamation    prize 
counts  for  but  little ;  and  even  a  successful  speaker  in 
prize    debate    cannot   be    sure   of  his   reputation  as   a 
"literary  man,"  until  he  has  strengthened  it  by  winning 
a  prize  composition.     But    while   college   will    readily 
allow  that  all  of  the  shrewd  "  low  scholars "  could  be 
come  good  ones  if  they  chose  ;  it  will  not  take  the  same 
Cor  granted  as  to  their  literary  possibilities,   nor  allow 
that  a  man  can  write  until  he  really  has  written  some 
thing  as  evidence  thereof.     On   the  other  hand,   many 
prize-takers    never  get    to   be   recognized   as  "  literary 
men,"  but  are  looked  upon  only  as  successful  cheats,  or 
as  having  greatness  thrust  upon  them  by  accident.     A 
low-stand  man  who  is  a  "good   writer"  is   a  favorite 
character  in  college,  for  his  occasional  appearance  helps 
to  confirm  a  vague  theory  fondly  clung  to — in  spite  of 
all  the  facts  being  against  it — that  the  two  characters 
consistently  go  together.     For  the  reasons  stated,  there 
are  few  contestants  for  the  mathematical  prizes,  and  the 
winners  of  them  are  apt  to  be  the  objects  of  more  or 
less  good-natured  chaff  and  banter  on  account  of  their 
"honors."     As  the  post-graduate  scholarships  are  not 
important  enough  of  themselves   to  induce   a   man   to 
reside    in    New    Haven,  none    but   those    intending  to 
remain  think  of  competing  for  them,   and  the   winners 
are   not  usually  the  best  scholars  of  their  class.     The 
freshman  scholarship  examinations  are   the   only  ones 
which  excite  much  interest  in  college,  and  "  the  Woolsey 
men  "  are  best  known  of  the  "  scholars  "  belonging  to 
the  mythical  House  which  Berkeley  built. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

MANNERS. 

Skinning  — Ordinary  Methods  — Blackboard  Work— Conies  and 
Chemistry  in  '69— At  Term  Examination — Stealing  the  Papers 
— Hands  and  Feet — Skinning-Machines — Indexing  a  Subject — A 
Unique  Fraud  Detected— Swapping  the  Papers— The  Yale  and 
Williams  Chemists  of  '68— At  Annual— The  Type  and  Pencil 
Game— Watch-Chrystals  and  Eye-Glasses— Pocket  Skinning  in 
'67  and  '55— Calculations  for  Cramming— Robbing  the  Printers 
—Attempted  Seizure  of  the  Pucklc  Paper  of '69— How  a  Baffled 
Thief  at  last  Succeeded— Working  up  a  Case— Inner  and  Outer 
Rings— Cheating  on  Make  Ups— Accidental  Erasures — Ponying 
—Composition  Frauds — How  Marks  are  Got  Rid  of— Precau 
tions  and  Penalties— College  Sentiment  in  regard  to  Deceiving 
the  Faculty— Behavior  in  the  Recitation  Rooms— At  Lectures— 
In  the  Chapel— How  Faculty  and  Students  Address  and  Refer 
to  Each  Other — Farewell  Cheers  for  the  Instructors— Absence 
of  the  Rebellious  Spirit— Insolent  Tricks  Discountenanced— The 
Faculty  Personally  Respected. 

The  verb  "  to  skin"  is  one  which  is  conjugated  by  the 
students  in  all  its  modes  and  tenses,  and  is  perhaps  the 
commonest  word  in  the  Yale  dialect,  though  it  does  not 
seem  to  be  in  use  at  other  colleges.  It  is  very  compre 
hensive  in  its  meaning,  and  is  used  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
and  with  a  great  number  of  different  applications,  though 
the  idea  of  deceiving  and  cheating  the  faculty  is  in  some 
shape  connected  with  them  all.  The  most  common  and 
primitive  mode  of  skinning  is  to  make  unfair  use  of  a 
text-book  in  the  recitation  room.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  academic  year  of  1870,  the  edict  went  forth  that  no 
text-books  save  those  demanded  by  the  nature  of  the 
exercise,  should  be  brought  into  any  recitation  room  of 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  621 

college,  and  though  the  rule  is  doubtles  to  some  extent 
evaded,  the  amount  of  skinning  is  much  less  now  than 
in  '6g's  time,  and  many  of  the  following  tricks  of  that 
period,  though  described  in  the  present  tense,  have 
under  the  new  arrangement  become  obsolete.  In  a  few 
studies  of  freshman  year,  where  the  books  are  not  re 
quired  for  recitation,  they  are  either  not  allowed  to  be 
brought  into  the  room,  or  if  brought  must  at  once  be 
laid  upon  the  tutor's  desk  and  left  there  till  the  close  of 
the  exercise.  In  the  upper  classes,  it  is  impracticable 
to  enforce  any  such  rule,  and  so  the  instructor  has  to 
content  himself  by  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  all  at 
tempts  at  fraud.  The  ostensible  reason  for  bringing  to 
recitation  the  books  not  really  needed  there — though 
there  are  not  many  of  this  sort — is  the  proper  marking 
therein  the  assigned  lessons,  as  well  as  the  desire  to 
improve  every  moment  of  the  time,  on  the  way  to  the 
division  room  and  within  it,  until  the  recitation  really 
opens.  Of  the  500  students  who  stream  out  of  the 
chapel  every  week-day  morning,  for  instance,  the  large 
majority  of  them  are  seen  to  be  desperately  cramming 
at  their  books  as  they  wend  their  ways  towards  their 
respective  places  of  reciting. 

With  the  calling  up  of  the  first  men  to  recite,  the 
opened  books  are  shut  together  with  a  virtuous  bang, 
— many  of  them  to  be  slyly  reopened  as  the  recitation 
advances.  A  common  practice  is  to  put  the  book  upon 
the  floor,  open  it  at  the  right  place  by  means  of  the  feet, 
and  in  the  same  way  turn  the  leaves  as  ofien  as  necessary. 
Of  course  those  sitting  upon  the  front  bench  cannot 
do  this,  as  there  is  nothing  to  "  cover"  them  ;  hence 
they  resort  to  the  plan  of  putting  their  books  on  the 
floor  behind,  and  depend  upon  some  friendly  foot  to 
keep  them  open.  On  the  other  hand,  they  may  open 
and  turn  the  leaves  of  a  book  for  a  rear-bench  man,  who 


622  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

finds  difficulty  in  managing  affairs  with  his  feet.     Other 
modes   of  achieving  the  same  result   are,   to   hold  the 
book  between  the  knees  ;  or  behind  the  back  of  another 
(of  a  front-seat  man,  when  the  instructor  squarely  faces 
the  benches,— of  one  on  the  same  seat,  who  turns  him 
self   for   the    purpose,    when    the    instructor's    desk   is 
oblique  or  at  right-angles  to  them)  ;  or  where  it  will  be 
"  covered"  by  the  man  who  is  reciting.     If  the  latter  is 
within  range  of  the  one  who  wishes  to  be   benefited,  he 
is  admonished  in  various  ways  to  "get  into  position," 
and  when  there  to  keep  it,  by  remaining  perfectly  immov 
able  until  ordered  to  his  seat.      The  object  'of  these 
modes  of  skinning,  is  to  cram  up  the  lesson,  bit  by  bit, 
keeping  just  ahead  of  the  part  which  is  being  recited,  in 
expectation  of  being  one's  self  called  up.     Hence,  a  man 
may  skin  out  a  whole  recitation  without  getting  any  ad 
vantage  from  it,  or  sometimes  may  make  a  dead  flunk 
instead  of  a  rush,  by  reason  of  the  instructor's   "skip 
ping"  a  little,  and  calling  him  up  in  advance  of  the  place 
to  which  he  had  skinned. 

In  some  cases  men  actually  recite  from  their  books, 
which  are  held  open  (by  themselves  or  another)  behind 
another  man's  back,  or  in  the  rear  of  a  bench,  or  even 
upon  the  floor, — the  leaves  of  course  being  torn  out  and 
used  separately  if  the  case  requires  it.  To  "  skin  a  man 
through" — though  the  word  is  not  so  common  in  this 
sense  as  in  others — is  to  help  him  recite.  This  is  done 
by  whispers,  or  signs,  or  nudges  in  different  parts  of  the 
body.  Mathematical  "  lines"  and  "  figures"  are  some 
times  indicated  by  pressing  a  finger  or  pencil  upon  a 
man's  back,  as  he  stands  up  to  recite,  so  that  he  may 
glibly  rattle  off  a  correct  description,  though  really  know 
ing  nothing  about  them.  Blackboard  work,  from  its 
peculiar  nature  and  difficulty,  offers  special  inducements 
for  skinning.  As  the  conductor  is  at  the  same  time  con- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  623 

ducting  the  recitation  and  watching  the  rest  of  the  class, 
he  cannot  very  closely  overlook  those  working  at  prob 
lems,  who — being  usually  near  to  one  another,  and  con 
stantly  moving  about,  for  "  more  chalk"  or  "  the  eraser," 
writing  and  rubbing  out  figures,  etc. — manage  often  to 
inspect  the  different  works  and  help  each  other  in  afflic 
tion.  Suppose  a  good  and  a  poor  scholar  who  are  friends 
are  sent  to  the  board  at  the  same  time  with  similar 
problems.  If  they  are  able  to  get  adjoining  spaces 
thereat,  the  former  in  the  midst  of  his  own  work  does 
out  that  of  the  latter,  step  by  step,  as  he  has  opportu 
nity,  and  rubs  out  each  process  as  soon  as  the  latter  has 
copied  it.  He  then  recites  his  own  problem,  and  his 
ignorant  friend,  by  dint  of  paying  good  attention  thereto, 
and  having  the  correct  demonstration  chalked  out 
before  him,  is  able  to  give  a  full  "explanation"  of  pro 
cesses  of  which  he  has  no  comprehension.  But  if  the 
two  are  sent  to  different  boards,  or  otherwise  separated, 
the  good  scholar  hurries  through  with  his  work,  while 
the  other  writes  out  a  full  statement  of  his  problem  in 
letters  large  enough  to  be  easily  read  from  the  benches, 
As  soon  as  the  good  scholar  can  get  to  his  seat,  he 
copies  this  off.  and  fully  explains  it  upon  paper  ;  which 
paper  he  rolls  up  into  a  small  wad  and,  watching  his 
opportunity,  tosses  to  his  friend,  or  in  some  way  places 
it  in  his  hand.  The  friend  meanwhile  has  been  writing 
out  a  large  amount  of  meaningless  figures  and  symbols, 
to  pass  away  the  time  and  keep  up  appearances,  but  he 
now  gradually  erases  them  and  substitutes  in  their  places 
the  correct  ones,  as  indicated  on  the  paper.  Having 
thus  "  solved"  his  problem,  he  "  explains"  it,  and  goes 
to  his  seat  as  before.  These  are  extreme  cases,  for 
often  a  poor  scholar  only  requires  assistance  in  a  small 
part  of  his  work  ;  or  perhaps  when  he  has  finished  it  he 
simply  telegraphs  to  those  on  the  seats  to  tell  him,  by 


624  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

reference  to  their  books  or  otherwise,  whether  his  answer 
is  the  correct  one.  Possibly  he  himself  has  his  book, 
or  particular  leaves  of  it,  under  his  coat  or  in  his  pock 
ets,  and  he  may  take  out  the  same,  and  cram  up  a  little 
on  the  rules  which  govern  the  solution  of  his  problem, 
before  he  ventures  to  explain  it.  In  this  paragraph, 
reference  has  been  chiefly  made  to  the  performances  of 
the  Sophomores,  as  the  Freshmen  do  not  venture  much 
upon  this  "  scientific  skinning."  Their  Euclid  book  is 
too  large  to  tuck  under  the  vest,  or  manipulate  readily, 
and  they  have  conscientious  scruples  against  cutting  out 
the  leaves.  They  are,  in  fact,  reasonably  honest,  and, 
aside  from  the  primitive  mode  of  skinning,  seldom  do 
any  finer  work  than  to  draw  the  Euclid  "figures"  on 
their  finger  nails,  or  to  copy  them  off,  with  the  demon 
strations,  upon  microscopic  skinning-papers. 

A  trick  played  in  the  Conies  recitation  of  '69'$  second 
sophomore  term,  which  recitation  was  held  in  the  lower 
south-east  corner  room  of  the  Lyceum,  was  this  :  One 
of  the  sanded  panes  of  glass  had  been  broken  out  of  a 
window — perhaps  by  design,  though  more  likely  by  acci 
dent — close  beside  the  black-board,  and  a  clear  pane 
had  been  put  in  its  place.  Now,  when  a  man  at  that 
particular  black-board  was  "  stuck,"  some  sympathizing 
friend  would  take  an  egress  from  recitation,  rush  round 
to  the  window  and  hold  up  to  the  pane  the  book,  opened 
at  the  right  place.  The  one  inside  would  thereupon 
copy  the  "figure"  and  "proportions"  of  the  demon 
stration,  and  make  a  dead  rush  in  short  order.  A 
similar  game  was  played  at  the  examinations,  except  in 
this  case  the  outside  confederate  belonged  to  another 
"  sub,"  and  had  harder  work  to  discover  the  right  propo 
sition  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  his  friend  within. 
It  is  in  senior  year  that  the  practice  of  skinning  is  most 
general  and  persistent,  for  the  recitations  then  consist 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  62$ 

almost  exclusively  of  book-work,  which  must  be  memor 
ized  if  not  skinned,  the  divisions  are  larger,  and  the 
chances  of  detection  are  very  much  lessened.  Chem 
istry,  in  particular,  is  a  subject  which  may  be  said  to  be 
skinned  entire, — that  is  to  say,  hardly  a  smattering  of 
the  science  is  really  learned  by  anyone.  The  recitations 
consist  largely  of  black-board  work,  or  the  solution  of 
chemical  problems  in  notation  and  transformation,  which 
problems  are  written  out  upon  cards  and  distributed  to 
as  many  as  the  black-boards  will  accommodate.  As  the 
text-books  in  Chemistry  are  of  small  size,  they  can  be 
easily  carried  in  the  breast  pocket,  without  attracting 
attention.  The  one  who  has  drawn  a  card,  therefore, 
as  soon  as  he  has  stated  its  contents  upon  the  board, 
pulls  out  his  book  and  searches  therein  for  the  same  or 
a  similar  problem,  wherefrom  he  copies  out  the  process 
and  solution.  He  then  crams  up  enough  of  the  letter 
press  to  enable  him  to  "  explain  "  his  work,  hands  in  his 
card  to  the  professor,  and  rushes  in  fine  style. 

But  of  course  the  highest  achievements  in  the  art  of 
skinning  are  called  out  by  the  examinations,  when,  as 
the  stake  to  be  played  for  is  greater,  and  the  difficulties 
of  the  game  are  increased,  increased  ingenuity  and 
shrewdness  are  necessary  to  ensure  success.  At  a  term 
examination,  it  is  always  an  object  of  ambition  to  "steal 
a  paper,"  that  is,  to  secretly  bring  out  from  the  room 
one  of  the  papers  on  which  questions  for  examination 
are  written.  This  paper  is  given  to  a  member  of  the 
next  c<  sub  "  which  is  to  be  examined,  who  crams  it  be 
fore  going  in,  and,  by  substituting  it  for  the  one  which 
he  really  draws  from  the  instructor,  of  course  makes  a 
rush.  His  own  paper  he  gives  to  a  man  in  the  next 
"  sub,"  and  so  the  game  once  started  goes  through  the 
entire  class.  Sometimes,  however,  it  is  blocked  by  the 
instructor's  taking  down  the  numbers  and  readingJAUe 

28 


626  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

contents  of  the  papers  he  assigns  to  each  individual, — 
though,  even  then,  "cheek"  on  a  skinner's  part  will 
accomplish  almost  anything.  This,  it  need  hardly  be 
observed,  is  a  very  important  factor  in  all  species  of 
successful  skinning.  Except  by  means  of  these  fraudu 
lent  papers,  the  languages  are  rarely  skinned  on  exami 
nation  ;  save,  in  a  few  desperate  cases,  when  pony 
leaves,  duly  arranged  and  indexed,  are  brought  in,  in 
the  pockets.  It  is  the  examinations  in  mathematics 
which  call  out  the  craftiest  devices.  Shirt-cuffs— the 
traditional  medium  through  which  to  obtain  useful  in 
formation,  in  the  way  of  formulae,  etc.,  marked  thereon 
in  advance — as  aids  to  skinning,  are  now  usually  aban 
doned,  as  being  too  clumsy  and  easy  of  detection.  In 
stead  of  them,  the  hands  and  feet  are  made  to  do  good 
service  :  for  though  the  total  superficies  of  the  ten 
finger-nails  cannot  be  called  large,  yet  the  amount  of 
significant  signs  which  can  be  condensed  upon  it  is  really 
wonderful ;  it  is  perhaps  nearly  equal  to  that  other 
amount,  which  can  be  placed,  by  means  of  a  blunt  lead- 
pencil,  upon  the  uppers  of  a  well-polished  pair  of  boots. 
The  ease  of  reading  from  the  hand  which  holds  the 
paper,  or  from  the  foot,  carelessly  thrown  across  the 
knee,  upon  which  it  may  be  allowed  to  rest ;  and  the 
ease  with  which  the  signs  and  wonders  on  hands  and 
feet  may  be  erased  when  they  have  fulfilled  their  pur 
pose  ;  cause  the  present  student  to  wonder  how  his  pre 
decessor  ever  put  up  with  so  stupid  a  device  as  that  of 
the  shirt-cuffs,  upon  which  the  evidence  of  his  guilt 
would  remain  indelible.  Boot  and  pencil  also  furnish  an 
approved  medium  of  communication  in  examinations 
where  a  good  scholar  is  seated  near  enough  to  a  poor 
one  to  be  able  to  help  him.  In  ordinary  recitations, 
£00,  conversation  is  carried  on  and  assistance  given 
'between  the  different  benches,  or  between  the  benches 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  627 

and  the  black-boards,  by  means  of  large  characters 
chalked  upon  boot  soles  or  book  covers, — those  at  the 
board  of  course  making  known  their  wants  by  its  assist 
ance. 

Sometimes  the  essential  contents  of  an  entire  mathe 
matical  text-book — like  Euclid,  Spherics,  Conies,  or 
Analytics — are  copied  off  upon  a  single  skinning-paper. 
This  may  be  done  "  all  at  once,"  for  use  at  a  term  ex 
amination  or  an  Annual,  or  little  by  little,  for  use  at  the 
daily  recitations  which  precede  them.  An  elaborate 
skinning-machine  of  this  sort  is  made  of  thin  but  stout 
paper,  about  two  inches  in  width  and  of  indefinite 
length,  which  is  mounted  upon  two  rollers,  like  an 
ancient  scroll, — being  wound  up  on  one  of  them  as  fast 
as  it  is  unrolled  from  the  other,  and  so  exposing  but  a 
very  small  surface  at  a  time.  The  skinner,  holding  the 
machine  between  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  quietly 
manipulates  the  rolls  with  his  thumb  until  the  desired 
information  is  brought  to  light,  when  he  crams  it,  or 
copies  it  on  the  board,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  his  work 
is  at  an  end.  Then  he  probably  lends  his  paper  to  the 
next  man  ;  for  a  machine  of  this  sort — the  making  of 
which,  perhaps,  requires  nearly  or  quite  as  much  time 
as  an  honest  mastery  of  the  work  which  it  covers — usu 
ally  goes  through  a  good  many  hands, — being  employed 
at  the  recitations  of  every  division,  and  the  examinations 
of  every  "  sub", — and  several  different  persons  may  have 
a  share  in  its  manufacture  and  ownership.  It  is  finally 
given  away  to  some  under-class  man,  —  provided  a 
changed  text-book  has  not  rendered  it  valueless  as  a 
gift.  Sometimes,  before  going  into  an  examination,  an 
elastic  cord  is  placed  inside  the  shirt-sleeve  and  fastened 
to  the  cuff  with  a  hook.  To  this  hook,  a  skinning  paper, 
or  anything  of  the  sort,  which  it  may  be  desirable  to  get 
rid  of  after  it  has  served  its  purpose,  is  attached,  and 


628  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

the   contraction   of  the  cord  draws  it  into  a  place   of 
safety. 

When  the  separate  leaves  of  a  book  are  carried  bodily 
into  an  examination,  they  have  to  be  previously  arranged 
and  indexed  with  great  care,  in  order  to  be  rendered  in 
any  way  "available."  Their  margins  are  pared  clown 
as  closely  as  possible,  and  they  are  then  arranged  into 
subjects  and  numbered  in  regular  order.  For  instance, 
in  Conies,  "the  parabola"  (that  is,  the  leaves  containing 
the  propositions  relating  to  that  subject)  may  be  placed 
in  one  pocket,  "the  hyperbola"  in  another,  and  "the 
ellipse  "  in  a  third.  A  skinning-index  is  then  prepared, 
by  writing  off,  on  paper,  boots,  or  fingers,  the  exact 
contents  of  each  leaf  stored  in  the  pockets.  Having 
drawn  his  examination  papers,  the  skinner  refers  to  his 
index  to  assure  himself  as  to  where  he  must  search  for 
the  leaf  containing  the  work  which  he  is  to  recite.  This 
done,  he  inserts  his  hand  in  the  pocket  indicated,  and 
counts  with  his  fingers  until  he  reaches  the  leaf  which 
he  wants,  and  which  he  proceeds  to  pull  out  and  cram 
from.  At  length,  having  safely  disposed  of  it  again, 
"the  game  is  made." 

At  '69's  "  Puckle"  examination,  one  of  the  sufferers, 
in  addition  to  being  thus  fully  equipped,  gratuitously 
attempted,  out  of  pure  love  of  deception,  to  carry  out  a 
still  more  daring  fraud  :  He  was  the  last  man  of  his 
"sub,"  and  the  last  one  to  enter  the  mathematical  room, 
for  examination,  and  by  agreement  with  the  rest  he 
occupied  his  usual  seat,  on  the  bench  nearest  the 
entrance  door, — say,  at  about  ten  or  a  dozen  feet  from 
it.  On  coming  in,  he  passed  a  pair  of  threads  under 
the  door,  before  closing  it,  and  brushed  them  carelessly 
along  the  floor  to  his  own  seat.  The  space  where  they 
lay  was  directly  in  front  of  the  presiding  officer,  but  on 
account  of  their  small  ness  and  distance  from  his  desk, 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  629 

he  did  not  notice  them.  The  skinner,  having  drawn 
his  papers,  hastily  copied  off  their  contents,  added  to 
the  copy  a  few  words,  more  forcible  than  elegant,  to  im 
press  upon  his  confederate  outside  the  necessity  of  the 
greatest  haste  ;  hitched  the  copied  paper  to  the  thread, 
and  then — when  the  professor  was  "  covered  "  by  a  man 
who  was  reciting  standing  directly  in  front  of  him,  as  had 
been  previously  arranged — began  working  the  threads, 
to  draw  the  paper  towards  the  door.  The  distance  was 
about  half  accomplished  when  the  thread  was  caught 
under  a  sliver  projecting  from  the  floor,  and  the  fated 
paper  was  whisked  off  and  left  all  friendless  and  alone. 
There  was  then  no  help  for  it  but  to  draw  in  the  threads, 
and  await  results.  As  soon  as  the  "  covering "  man 
had  finished  reciting,  the  professor  of  course  saw  the 
paper  and  evinced  by  a  peculiar  smile  that  he  suspected 
an  attempted  fraud.  Marking  his  man  for  a  vitiated 
examination,  he  paid  little  further  attention  to  him,  now 
that  he  supposed  his  game  was  hopelessly  blocked,  but 
went  on  hearing  the  others.  Our  friend  being  thus 
placed  above  suspicion,  could  the  more  readily  make 
use  of  the  second  string  to  his  bow, — a  string  not  liable 
to  catch  in  the  floor, — and  he  proceeded  to  do  it  by 
referring  to  his  index,  pulling  from  his  pocket  the 
indicated  leaves  of  "  Puckle,"  and  cramming  them  at 
his  leisure.  At  length,  when  ready  to  recite,  as  he  went 
to  the  desk  to  hand  in  his  papers,  he  stepped  boldly  to 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  picked  up  his  unfortunate  mes 
sage,  glanced  at  its  contents,  and  tore  it  to  fragments. 
The  professor  of  course  asked  him  what  it  might  be, 
and  he  replied  that  it  was  a  skinning  paper,  which  had 
been  blown  under  the  door  by  some  unknown  person 
from  without,  directed  to  a  man  upon  the  back  seat ; 
that  he  did  not  wish  this  man's  examination  vitiated, 
since  he  had  made  no  use  of  the  paper,  and  perhaps  had 


630  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

no  previous  knowledge  of  it ;  and  that  therefore  he  had 
torn  the  paper  up,  to  prevent  the  professor  and  the 
faculty  from  discovering  the  man's  name.  If  this  were 
a  misdemeanor,  he  was  willing  to  take  the  penalty  for 
it,  but  meantime  he  would  like  to  proceed  with  his  own 
examination.  On  this  he  of  course  made  a  rush,  and 
probably  no  further  result  would  have  followed  his 
name's  being  reported  to  the  faculty  than  the  infliction 
of  several  marks,  or  perhaps  a  warning,  had  not  the  pro 
fessor  afterwards  picked  up  and  joined  together  the 
fragments  of  the  note,  and  in  this  way  found  out  its  real 
character.  On  the  three  counts,  then,  (i)  of  attempting 
to  skin  at  examination,  (2)  of  lying  to  the  faculty,  and 
(3)  of  using  profane  language  in  his  note,  our  crafty 
friend's  high-stand  examination  was  vitiated,  and  he 
himself  was  rusticated  for  the  rest  of  the  year :  though, 
as  need  hardly  be  stated  of  one  so  audacious,  he  ulti 
mately  graduated  with  his  class. 

Communication  with  friends  outside  has  sometimes 
been  kept  up  by  those  who  happen  to  be  placed  near  a 
window,  in  an  examination, — signs  and  words,  written 
or  even  uttered,  being  the  mediums  employed.  Little 
of  this  is  done,  however,  since  very  few  of  the  recitation 
rooms  are  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  "  available  " 
windows  in  these  are  not  many.  In  the  senior  year 
examinations,  it  is  a  not  uncommon  practice  to  "  swap" 
papers, — a  thing  which  can  be  done  more  easily  than  in 
other  years,  owing  to  the  larger  size  of  the  "  subs,"  and 
the  practice  of  giving  out  all  the  papers  at  once  and 
allowing  their  holders  to  sit  close  beside  each  other,  as 
in  an  ordinary  recitation.  Sometimes,  however,  the  old 
rule  of  sitting  widely  apart,  is  insisted  upon.  In 
"  swapping,"  each  man  gets  the  benefit  of  two  chances, 
instead  of  one,  of  drawing  something  with  which  he  is 
acquainted ;  and  it  may  sometimes  happen  that  two 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  631 

men  who  would  each  flunk  the  papers  they  originally 
drew,  by  making  an  even  "  swap  "  are  each  able  to  rush 
the  other's  papers.  So,  too,  a  good  scholar  may  help 
a  poor  one,  just  hanging  on  the  verge  of  the  class  and 
liable  to  drop  at  any  time  for  the  want  of  a  few  hun- 
dreths  of  stand,  by  swapping  papers  with  him,  though 
by  doing  it  he  ensures  for  himself  a  fizzle  instead  of  a 
rush. 

In  the  chemistry  examinations  of  '68,  the  papers 
were  swapped  in  accordance  with  a  regular  system, 
previously  planned  :  It  was  found,  after  the  first  "  sub" 
had  been  examined,  that  the  ground  was  covered  by 
just  twelve  questions, — a  number  which  corresponded  to 
the  number  belonging  to  each  "sub."  In  each  "sub" 
after  the  first,  therefore,  the  work  was  portioned  out  in 
advance  among  the  different  members, — each  one  of 
whom  crammed  that  one  of  the  twelve  questions  which 
was  assigned  him.  Then,  in  examination,  when  the 
papers  were  given  out,  they  would  be  quietly  circulated 
until  each  man  got  hold  of  the  one  which  he  had 
crammed ;  and  the  rush  which  he  made  therefrom 
would  be  rewarded  by  a  high  mark,  corresponding  to 
those  given  during  the  term  for  equally  honest  rushes- 
made  by  skinning.  The  professor  who  gave  instruction 
to  this  class,  on  the  following  term  performed  a  similar 
office  for  the  Seniors  of  Williams  College,  using  the 
same  text-book  and  treating  them  in  exactly  the  same 
manner.  Strange  to  say,  the  Williams  men  failed  to 
recite  well, — frightful  fizzles  only  alternating  with  down 
right  flunks,  day  after  clay,  and  week  after  week.  But 
the  climax  was  reached  at  examination  time,  for  then 
the  terror-stricken  chemists  had  to  throw  up  the  game  in 
despair,  and  to  admit  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the 
subject.  The  professor's  equanimity  had  been  sorely 
tried  before,  but  this  last  straw  upset  it  altogether: 


632  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

"Gentlemen  !"  said  he,  " I'm  disgusted  with  such  stu 
pidity  !     Last  term,  at  Yale  College,  I  taught  this  same 
study,  with  this  same  text  book,  to  a  class  of  young  men 
of  the  same  age  as  yourselves,  who  not   only  recited 
exceedingly  well  in  term-time,  but  passed  their  examina 
tions  with  especial  honor !     I  am  therefore  firmly  con 
vinced   that  you  have  shamefully  slighted  this  study, 
and  done  justice  neither  to  yourselves  nor  your  college  !  " 
So  goes  the  story  at  Yale,  and,  if  not  strictly  true,  it  is 
so  essentially  plausible  as  to  serve  all  the  purpose  of  an 
illustration.     Whether  the  Williams  men  were  too  hon 
est,  or  too  stupid,  or  too  closely  watched,  to  skin  succes- 
fully,  does  not  appear ;  but  the  professor's  words  must 
have  inspired  them  with  an  increased  awe  and  venera 
tion  for  the   name  of  Yale,   and  have  caused  them  to 
wonder  if  the   New  Haven    students,  whom   they  had 
previously  looked  upon  as  their  equals,  were  not,  after 
all,  members  of  a  higher  order  of  creation,  endowed 
with  intellects  far  superior  to  those  of  common  mortals, 
to  whom   any  chemical   notation  more   elaborate  than 
H2O  is  likely  to  be  a  delusion  and  a  snare.     In  '69,  the 
examinations  in   Chemistry  were    simplified   by   being 
skinned  directly  from  the  book,  like  the  ordinary  recita 
tions.     At  the  other  senior  examinations — especially  in 
the  department  of  Moral  Science — entire  text-books  are 
often  secretly  brought  in — under  the  vest  or  in  the  over 
coat  pockets  —  and  skinned  from.      Cases  have    even 
been  known  where   a  desperate  skinner,  going  up  to 
recite  an  examination  paper  of  which  he  knew  nothing, 
has  laid  upon   a  lower  edge  of  his  instructor's  desk  a 
page  or  more  of  mathematical  formulas,  and  while  the 
professor  looked  at  the  figure  in  his  own  book  or  upon 
the  board,  has  actually  read  off  the  proof,  and  escaped 
detection. 

The  stricter  the  examinations  the  shrewder  must  be 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  63 3 

the  devices  employed  to  circumvent  them,  and  hence  it 
takes  an  Annual  to  bring  out  the  full  perfection  of  skin 
ning.  The  peculiar  nature  of  this  examination  makes 
some  of  the  old  tricks  impossible,  some  of  them  more 
difficult,  some  of  them  easier,  and  allows  of  some  alto 
gether  new  ones.  A  man  finds  it  much  more  hazardous 
to  attempt  any  communication  with  his  neighbor,  but  at 
the  same  time  much  easier  to  consult  his  own  boots  or 
finger-nails.  Though  the  clock  in  the  hall  hangs  in 
sight  of  most,  it  is  a  very  common  thing  for  a  man  to 
lay  his  watch  beside  his  inkstand  before  he  begins  to 
work  ;  and  if  the  dial  of  that  watch  be  covered  with 
microscopic  dates  and  formulae,  there  is  little  danger  of 
anyone  save  himself  taking  notice  thereof.  A  more 
elaborate  trick — which  a  '69  man  has  the  credit  of  in 
venting,  but  which  it  is  possible  that  few  in  that  class 
ever  heard  of  before— was  this  :  A  small  font  of  extra- 
hand  and  sharply-cut  brevier  type  was  procured,  and 
also  a  quantity  of  ordinary  octagonal  lead-pencils.  By 
impressing  the  proper  letters  of  the  former  upon  each 
side  of  one  of  the  latter,  eight  lines — each  one  ten  inches 
long,  say — of  information,  likely  to  be  "  interesting"  at 
examination  time,  could  be  transferred  to  every  pencil. 
One  or  two  pencils  of  this  kind  were  prepared  for  each 
examination,  and  there  being  no  rule  against  the  bring 
ing  of  lead  pencils  into  the  hall,  they  could  be  taken 
out  and  consulted  without  attracting  notice  ;  though,  if 
still  greater  security  were  required,  by  fastening  common 
clasps  to  their  ends  they  could  be  transformed  into  ordi 
nary  looking  penholders,  and  employed  as  such  while 
their  secret  information  was  being  memorized  or  written 
down.  This  fraud  is  perhaps  a  too  laborious  one  to  be 
much  resorted  to,  except  in  desperate  cases,  but  the 
almost  absolute  impossibility  of  its  being  detected, 
specially  recommends  it  to  the  attention  of  the  timid. 

28* 


634  POUR    Y&ARS  At  YALE. 

Another  trick  is  to  write  upon  a  watch-chrystal,  by 
means  of  a  diamond  or  sharp  bit  of  quartz.  Eye  glasses 
are  also  put  to  a  similar  use  by  .those  in  the  habit  of 
wearing  them ;  one  or  two  pairs  of  mock  glasses  closely 
covered  with  writing,  being  carried  in,  and  shifted  about 
from  the  pocket  to  the  eyes  and  from  the  eyes  to  the 
table,  in  which  latter  position  the  information  engraved 
upon  them  can  be  made  use  of.  If  it  be  desired  to  skin 
more  extensively,  blank  sheets,  of  the  peculiar  kind  of 
paper  with  which  the  tables  are  supplied,  must  be  smug 
gled  out  of  the  hall  at  the  close  of  one  examination  and 
smuggled  into  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  next,  after  having 
been  covered  on  one  side  with  useful  facts  and  statistics, 
expressed  in  the  ordinary  handwriting  of  the  skinner. 
The  fraudulent  sheets,  after  having  been  once  safely 
spread  upon  one's  table,  may  be  allowed  to  rest  there 
with  perfect  security,  or  may  be  taken  up  in  the  hand 
and  crammed  from  openly,  since  there  is  nothing  to  dis 
tinguish  them  from  the  honestly-written  sheets  which 
lie  upon  every  man's  table.  The  third  and  last  step  of 
the  process  is  to  smuggle  them  out  of  the  hall  again, 
after  they  have  served  their  purpose.  An  entire  book 
is  never  brought  in  to  Annual,  and  none  but  the  most 
brazen  of  skinners  ever  venture  to  experiment  then  with 
a  skinning-index  and  the  separate  printed  leaves. 

Minute  skinning-papers,  and  the  elaborate  double- 
scroll  machine  already  described,  are  to  some  extent 
made  use  of.  At  the  sophomore  Biennial  of  '67 — the 
last  one  ever  held — one  of  the  sufferers  was  possessed 
of  a  "  double-roller,"  upon  which  was  copied  the  essen 
tial  part  of  all  the  Analytics  recited  by  the  class.  Before 
entering  the  examination  hall,  the  man  in  question  cut 
a  hole,  large  enough  to  admit  the  passage  of  his  hand, 
through  the  pocket  and  inner  side  of  his  left  trousers' 
leg ;  and  when  seated  at  his  table,  though  his  left  hand 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  635 

was  to  all  appearances  innocently  resting  in  the  depths 
of  his  pocket,  it  was  really  holding  before  his  eyes  a 
condensed  treatise  on  Analytical  Geometry.  If  a  profes 
sor  had  any  suspicions  aroused  by  the  fixedness  of  the 
skinner's  gaze,  and  approached  him  to  investigate,  he 
would  be  reassured  by  finding  nothing  attracting  it  save 
the  wood-work  of  the  floor  ;  for  without  any  peceptible 
motion  the  hand  could  be  clasped  within  the  pocket ; 
while,  if  worst  came  to  worst,  and  the  skinner  was 
ordered  to  "  show  his  hand,"  he  could  instantly  do  it 
with  the  greatest  possible  display  of  injured  innocence, 
and  still  be  able,  by  aid  of  his  "  little  joker,"  to  win  the 
game  in  the  end.  Another  sort  of  "  pocket  skinning" 
was  that  said  to  have  been  practised  at  the  senior  Bien 
nial  of  '55  :  The  skinner  bored  a  half-inch  auger-hole 
in  the  floor,  in  such  proximity  to  the  legs  of  his  table 
that  his  own  left  foot  would  naturally  cover  the  orifice. 
The  boring  he  accomplished  after  the  first  examination, 
either  by  pacing  carefully  the  distance  of  his  table  from 
the  door,  as  he  withdrew,  and  then  calculating  a  similar 
distance  in  the  cellar  below,  and  working  upwards  with 
his  auger  through  the  flooring  of  the  indicated  spot ;  or 
by  breaking  into  the  hall  by  night  and  boring  from 
above.  Access  to  the  cellar  was  made  by  one  of  the 
rear  windows,  which,  if  not  open,  could  of  course  be 
smashed.  Through  this  window,  at  the  commencement 
of  an  examination,  was  sent  an  under-class  friend  of  the 
skinner, — bearing  all  the  text  books  which  were  that 
clay  to  passed  upon,  —  with  orders  to  station  himself 
directly  beneath  the  hole.  He  was  of  course  supplied 
with  pencil  and  paper,  the  latter  perhaps  being  the  offi 
cial  sort,  previously  smuggled  from  the  hall.  The  prep 
arations  on  the  skinner's  part  consisted  of  a  stout  black 
cord  fastened  to  the  left  trowsers'  pocket,  and  extending, 
through  a  rent  in  the  same,  down  the  left  trowsers'  leg, 


636  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

at  the  bottom  of  which,  with  a  loaded  darning-needle, 
and  several  coils  of  "  slack"  attached,  it  was  lightly 
tacked  on.  Once  seated  at  his  table,  it  was  an  easy 
matter  for  the  man — while  stooping  to  pick  up  his  pen 
holder,  "  accidentally"  dropped  between  his  feet — to  un 
loose  the  coils  of  cord  and  let  the  loaded  needle  drag  it 
down  through  the  hole  below.  Communication  being 
thus  opened  with  his  confederate  in  the  cellar,  it  was 
only  necessary  to  copy  off  the  "  hard  questions"  from 
the  examination  paper,  attach  them  to  the  cord  in  his 
pocket,  and  gently  work  them  through  his  trowsers  leg, 
and  the  hole  in  the  floor,  to  the  partner  of  his  fraud  who 
awaited  them.  The  latter,  by  reference  to  his  text  books 
and  ponies,  copied  off  correct  answers  as  quickly  as 
possible,  and,  wrapping  the  improvised  skinning-paper 
around  the  cord,  signaled  that  his  work  was  accom 
plished  :  whereupon  the  skinner  drew  up  the  precious 
document,  and  transferred  its  available  contents  to  the 
blank  sheets  upon  his  table.  The  table  leg  could  be 
made  to  cover  the  augur  hole  when  the  latter  was  not 
needed  ;  and  the  one  who  thus  passed  his  examinations 
was  doubtless  able  ever  after  to  see  a  new  meaning  in 
the  old  war  song,  "  Biennials  are  a  Bore." 

But  the  attempts  at  deception  are  not  confined  simply 
to  skinning.  Since  the  Annual  papers  can  contain  but 
a  very  small  fraction  of  the  year's  work,  an  enormous 
premium  is  offered  for  finding  out  in  advance  what  ques 
tions  those  papers  arc  to  contain.  Within  certain  limits, 
probabilities  can  be  calculated  by  a  careful  comparison 
of  the  former  Annual  and  Biennial  papers,  which  are 
kept  for  reference  in  the  library.  A  sort  of  correspond 
ence  between  the  work  and  questions  given  in  different 
years  may  be  easily  made  out,  and  a  plan  of  cramming 
decided  upon  with  reference  to  it — some  parts  of  a  sub 
ject  being  set  aside  as  "not  worth  looking  at,"  some  as 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  637 

u  worth  glancing  over,"  some  as  "  worth  a  thorough 
cramming."  At  '69's  freshman  Annual,  in  cramming 
up  for  the  Euclid  examination,  many  paid  attention  only 
to  those  propositions — numbering  less  than  50  in  all — 
which  had  been  given  out  at  previous  Annuals  or  Bien 
nials  ;  for  it  was  noticed  that  for  several  years  preced 
ing,  two  out  of  three  propositions  on  a  paper  had  been 
given  before  ;  that  is,  that  the  faculty  had  ordered  one 
new  wood-cut  "  figure  "  made  each  year,  and  had  selected 
the  other  two  "figures"  from  among  the  blocks  previ 
ously  manufactured.  And  it  may  here  be  remarked  that 
all  the  "  figures  "  supplied  at  Annual — save  those  in 
Astronomy — are  always  white  lines  on  black,  instead  of 
black  lines  on  white  as  in  the  book.  Now,  by  making 
sure  of  rushing  two  propositions,  one  might  safely  run 
his  chance  on  the  third,  and  even  flunk  it,  without  falling 
below  average.  The  attempt  was  always  made,  more 
over,  to  get  wind  of  the  third  or  new  proposition,  while 
the  engraver  was  preparing  the  figure.  In  '70  it  was 
successfully  done  by  bribing  an  office  boy,  who  secretly 
managed  to  get  a  look  at  the  figure  while  the  instructor 
was  showing  it  to  his  master,  and  was  hence  able  to 
recognize  and  point  it  out  when  all  the  figures  of  Euclid 
were  displayed  before  him  by  the  students  who  set  him 
on  the  watch.  Latterly  the  practice  of  cramming  on  the 
"  old  propositions  "  of  Euclid  has  been  abandoned,  both 
because  their  number  has  considerably  increased,  and 
because  the  belief  has  gained  ground  that,  after  all,  the 
theory  is  wrong,  and  that  there  is  no  certainty  of  two  of 
the  three  figures  selected  being  those  of  "old  propo 
sitions." 

Desperate  attempts  are  likewise  made  to  get  posses 
sion  of  the  entire  contents  of  the  paper,  while  it  is  in  the 
printer's  hands,  or  afterwards.  The  papers  are  usually 
damp  from  the  press  when  distributed  in  the  examina- 


638  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

tion  halt,  and  are  always  printed  on  the  same  day  when 
used.  Of  course  the  forenoon  papers  are  put  in  type 
the  night  before,  and  various  schemes  are  resorted  to 
to  get  hold  of  the  "  form  "  at  that  time,  and  learn  the 
contents  thereof ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  every  effort 
is  made  by  those  in  authority  to  prevent  such  schemes 
from  succeeding.  The  story  is  told  that  on  one  occa 
sion,  as  the  "  form  "  of  a  paper  for  an  afternoon  exami 
nation  was  about  being  made  ready  for  the  press 
(Hayes's  printing  office  being  the  locality,  and  the  mid 
dle  of  the  forenoon,  the  time),  a  fire  was  suddenly 
kindled  in  the  entry,  which  at  once  sent  a  dense  smoke 
throughout  the  building,  and  in  the  confusion  and  alarm, 
one  of  the  many  students  who  "rushed  to  the  rescue" 
(one  who  had  been  informed  by  a  spy  as  to  the  exact 
position  of  the  press  and  its  accessories,  and  had  pre 
pared  himself  for  the  work),  managed  to  "  take  an  im 
pression  "  upon  his  shirt  sleeve  and  escape  undetected. 
At  the  sophomore  Annual  of  '69,  a  persistent  effort 
was  made  to  get  hold  of  the  mathematical  paper, — since 
upon  the  "  Puckle  "  portion  of  it  most  of  the  class  were 
almost  certain  to  flunk.  A  pair  of  professional  house 
breakers  were  imported  from  New  York  to  "  work  up 
the  case,"  and  were  to  receive  $200  in  the  event  of  suc 
cess,  but  nothing  in  case  of  failure.  The  examination 
was  to  be  held  at  9  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  and, 
from  day-break  of  Thursday,  until  he  finally  withdrew 
to  his  house  for  the  night,  the  professor  of  Mathematics 
was  dogged  about  by  one  or  the  other  of  these  spies, 
and  never  allowed  out  of  their  sight  for  more  than  a  few 
minutes  at  a  time.  He  was  tracked  from  his  house  to 
the  Library,  to  the  printing  office,  to  the  post  office, 
every  where  ;  and  the  time  spent  in  each  place,  and  his 
mode  of  employing  it,  was,  as  far  as  possible,  carefully 
noted.  At  the  printing-office,  the  burglar,  to  account 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  639 

for  his  visits  there,  ordered  some  handbills  of  an  im 
aginary  steamboat  excursion  to  be  struck  off, — which 
handbills  were  to  be  called  for  "  early  next  morning," 
and  "must  be  printed  there,  because" — though  the  col 
lege  printers  did  little  miscellaneous  work  of  that  sort — 
"all  the  other  offices  were  too  busy  to  take  the  job." 
In  the  course  of  his  visits,  the  burglar  was  able  to  deter 
mine  pretty  accurately  the  state  of  things  in  the  office  ; 
and  he  also  managed  to  get  a  glimpse  at  the  "  copy,"  in 
the  hands  of  the  professor,  but,  not  being  possessed  of 
a  liberal  education,  he  was  unable  to  bring  to  headquar 
ters  any  more  definite  report  of  what  he  saw  than  to 
liken  the  "figure"  which  met  his  gaze  to  the  general 
appearance  of  "  a  curb-bit "  ;  nor  could  he,  owing  to  the 
same  lamentable  defect  in  his  early  culture,  distinguish 
this  particular  "curb-bit"  from  its  numerous  comrades, 
when  the  "  Puckle "  book  was  opened  before  him. 
Nothing  remained,  therefore,  but  to  carry  out  the  origi 
nal  plan,  and  get  hold  of  the  paper  by  force.  Accord 
ingly,  at  a  little  past  midnight,  the  head  burglar  and 
two  of  his  sophomore  employers  mounted  the  roof  of 
the  printing-office, — by  means  of  a  skylight  leading  from 
the  room  of  a  Soph  living  at  the  other  end  of  the  block, — 
and  letting  themselves  down  through  another  skylight  or 
a  window  in  the  rear,  were  quickly  among  the  types  and 
presses.  But  here  a  new  difficulty  beset  them,  for  their 
dark-lantern,  after  being  lighted,  proved  true  to  its  name, 
flickered  a  minute,  and  then  went  out.  There  was  no 
help  for  it  then  save  to  boost  a  Soph  up  on  the  roof 
again,  and  send  him  off  for  another  bull's-eye.  He, 
knowing  of  but  one  which  could  safely  be  sought  at  that 
hour,  hastened  to  the  house  of  his  society  janitor,  and 
being  unable  to  arouse  him,  climbed  into  the  window, 
wandered  through  the  rooms  of  sleeping  Freshmen, 
finally  discovered  the  lantern,  and  returned  with  it  to 


640  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

his  partners  in  crime.  The  "  pal "  of  the  chief  burglar 
had  all  this  time  been  left  outside,  to  give  the  alarm  in 
case  of  discovery,  and  draw  off  upon  himself  any  "  move 
ment  "  which  might  be  made  ;  and  he  either  lay  hidden 
in  the  grass  of  the  green,  or  carelessly  strolled  up  and 
down  the  street,  as  circumstances  seemed  to  advise. 
Inside  the  office,  after  the  arrival  of  the  messenger  of 
light,  everything  was  thoroughly  ransacked,  and  not  a 
single  imposing-stone  was  left  unturned,  in  the  desperate 
search  for  the  much  desired  "  form."  But  it  was  all  in 
vain:  not  a  stick-full  of  type,  nor  a  shred  of  "proof," 
nor  a  line  of  "copy,"  relating  to  sophomore  mathematics, 
could  be  raked  up ;  and,  as  the  signs  of  day  began  to 
appear  in  the  east,  even  "Honest  John,"  the  house 
breaker,  had  to  admit  that  the  game  was  lost,  and  that 
it  was  useless  to  stay  longer  in  the  office.  But,  as  he 
reluctantly  withdrew  and  saw  the  hoped-for  $200  van 
ishing  in  the  dim  twilight  of  the  early  morning,  he 
"  damned  his  eyes "  because  he  had  not  begun  opera 
tions  earlier  by  "  sweetening  up  the  office  boy,"  and  still 
offered  to  earn  the  money  by  breaking  into  the  private 
residences  of  the  printer  and  professor,  in  search  for 
the  secreted  "form,"  or  by  abducting  "  that  little  make- 
matic  man  "  and  holding  him  in  durance  vile  until  the 
examinations  were  over.  But  these  desperate  schemes 
were  rejected  as  soon  as  proposed,  and  with  a  bonus  of 
$10  for  their  night's  work  "John  "  and  his  "pal  "  were 
sorrowfully  dismissed,  and  the  baffled  Sophomores  turned 
in  for  a  few  hours'  sleep  to  prepare  them  for  the  rapidly 
approaching  torture. 

One  of  them — the  thief  of  the  lantern — still  managed, 
however,  to  pass  unscathed  the  inquisition  referred  to, 
without  in  reality  paying  the  slightest  attention  to  its 
questions  :  Next  beside  him,  in  class  and  examination, 
sat  a  high-stand  man  who  was  well  up  on  mathematics, 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  641 

and  who,  in  consideration  of  $10,  was  to  attempt  to 
"skin  him  through"  his  "Puckle"  Annual.  With  this 
object  in  view,  he  practised  in  advance  at  forging  the 
lantern  thief's  signature,  and  imitating  his  ordinary 
writing,  until  he  could  do  both  with  reasonable  accuracy. 
Arrived  in  the  examination  hall,  he  wrote,  say,  half  a 
dozen  sheets,  with  his  own  name  at  the  top  ;  enough  at 
all  events  to  "  keep  up  his  stand,"  whatever  it  was  ;  and 
then,  devoting  his  attention  to  the  man  who  had  em 
ployed  him,  with  his  name  at  the  top  and  in  his  imitated 
handwriting,  proceeded  to  cover  several  sheets  with  the 
same  work.  Of  course  the  second  series  of  papers 
were  much  less  perfect  than  the  first,  and  were  intended 
to  contain  no  more  work  than  would  be  sufficient  to  pass 
a  man  a  trifle  above  average,  as  a  rush  on  a  mathemati 
cal  examination  from  one  just  hanging  on  the  verge  of 
the  class  would  excite  too  much  suspicion.  Meanwhile, 
the  one  distinguished  as  the  lantern  thief  sat  at  his 
table,  with  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  industriously  doing 
nothing.  Finally,  when  the  weary  two  hours  and  a 
half  were  over,  and  men  were  hastening  from  the  hall, 
he  walked  up  to  the  professor  of  Mathematics,  to  whom 
others  were  handing  in  their  work,  and  having  asked 
him  some  improvised  question  in  regard  to  the  paper, 
returned  no  more  to  his  seat,  but  went  out  with  the 
others  from  the  hall.  His  confederate  soon  after 
handed  in  both  series  of  papers  at  the  desk,  and  like 
wise  withdrew.  For  a  fortnight  afterwards,  the  lantern 
thief  hung  about  his  local  post-office,  expecting  to  inter 
cept  a  "  letter  home,"  informing  his  parents  that  their  son's 
career  at  Yale  had  ended  ;  but  the  letter  never  came,  the 
fraud  was  never  discovered,  and  the  skinner  in  clue 
time  received  his  sheepskin  with  the  others.  It  was  a 
perilous  game  to  play,  but  the  man  was  desperate,  and 
believing  that  his  own  stay  in  college  depended  upon 


642  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

passing  that  examination,  he  boldly  threw  down  his 
last  card  and — won.  Apparently  it  would  have  dimin 
ished  the  chances  of  detection,  if  both  the  lantern-thief 
and  his  assistant  had  stepped  up  to  the  desk  together, 
at  the  same  time  when  many  others  were  handing  in 
their  papers,  and  in  the  confusion  had  made  a  transfer, 
and  afterwards  handed  in  their  papers  separately.  The 
former,  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  might  have  taken 
one  or  two  blank  sheets  in  his  hand  as  he  started  from 
his  table.  Both  series  of  papers  being  handed  in 
together,  the  resemblance  between  the  handwritings, 
etc.,  would  be  more  easily  detected,  —  especially  as 
attention  would  be  called  to  it  by  the  fact  of  the  two 
successive  sets  of  papers  "  lying  the  same  way,"  instead 
of  "crosswise,"  as  all  papers  are  arranged  when  handed 
in  to  the  examining  officer.  But,  as  nothing  succeeds 
like  success,  perhaps  the  plan  tried  was,  after  all,  the 
wisest  one. 

At  the  junior  Annual  of  '69,  the  paper  on  Natural 
Philosophy  was  got  hold  of,  a  few  hours  in  advance,  and 
crammed  on  by  perhaps  half  the  class ;  but  as  the 
faculty  detected  the  cheat,  by  the  rushes  of  the  poor 
scholars  and  the  fizzles  and  flunks  of  the  good  ones, 
they  forced  the  entire  class  to  pass  a  new  examination 
upon  the  subject.  At  the  same  time,  some  of  the  Sophs 
of  '70  learned  the  contents  of  their  French  paper ;  and 
a  dozen  of  the  poor  scholars  who  rushed  the  examina 
tion  were  arbitrarily  picked  out  as  being  the  probably 
guilty  parties,  and  made  to  go  through  the  mill  again. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  but  three  of  the  dozen,  thus  made 
to  do  penance  for  the  guilty,  really  had  any  knowledge 
of  the  fraud.  It  should  be  understood  that  it  is  chiefly 
for  the  benefit  of  low-stand  men,  "  good  fellows  "  who 
are  in  danger  of  being  dropped  from  the  class,  that 
examination  papers  are  sought  after,  and  the  other 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  643 

modes  of  deception  resorted  to.  .  The  greatest  obstacle 
in  "  working  up  a  case  "  is  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the 
matter  secret  from  the  body  of  the  class.  In  the  first 
place,  a  "  ring  "  must  be  formed,  say  of  half  a  dozen 
men,  who  are  to  have  absolute  control  of  the  scheme. 
It  is  then  decided  what  other  poor  scholars  shall  be 
allowed  to  share  in  its  benefits,  each  member  of  "  the 
ring  "  perhaps  being  permitted  to  name  two  or  three. 
The  members  of  the  "  outer  ring  "  being  decided  upon, 
they  are  cautiously  approached  upon  the  subject,  and, 
after  being  pledged  to  secrecy,  are  told  in  general 
terms  that  a  plan  is  on  foot  to  get  such  and  such  a 
paper,  and  asked  if  they  will  contribute  their  share  of 
money,  say  $5  or  so,  in  its  support.  If  they  agree  to  it, 
they  are  pledged  to  let  no  classmate  know  of  the  plan, 
or  gain  benefit  from  it  if  successful.  They  are  not 
given  any  knowledge  as  to  the  scheme  of  operation,  or 
the  composition  of  the  inner  and  outer  "  rings."  The 
half-dozen  members  of  the  working  force  are  generally 
able  to  raise  enough  money  for  their  purposes,  and  to 
bear  the  loss  of  it  if  they  fail ;  and  they  also  pledge 
one  another  to  impart  the  secret  to  no  one  save  the  indi 
viduals  lawfully  chosen  upon  the  "  outer  ring."  The 
latter  are  not  notified  at  all  of  the  scheme  until  a  few 
days,  perhaps  a  few  hours,  before  the  results  of  it  are 
expected,  and  up  to  this  point  all  goes  well.  But  sup 
pose  the  priceless  paper  is  got  hold  of,  and  its  invalu 
able  contents  are  made  known  to  the,  say,  eighteen 
members  of  "  the  ring,"  it  is  now  that  the  real  difficulty 
of  keeping  the  secret  begins  ;  for  each  one  of  those 
eighteen  is  quite  sure  to  have  some  particular  friend, 
wildly  cramming  at  his  books,  whom  a  trifling  hint 
would  be  such  a  help  to,  that,  spite  of  oaths  and  pledges, 
the  temptation  to  tell  him  is  all  but  irresistible.  The 
temptation  yielded  to,  in  a  few  cases,  and  the  informa- 


644  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

tion  becomes  the  common  property  of  the  majority  of 
the  class,  including  some  high-stand  men  ;  the  others 
hear  of.  it,  and  think  themselves  badly  used ;  the 
managers  can  no  longer  maintain  discipline  and  enforce 
on  all  the  necessity  of  doing  only  moderately  well 
instead  of  rushing  ;  the  faculty  discover  the  cheat ;  and 
every  one  is  brought  to  grief.  No  class  can  make  sure 
of  having  more  than  a  dozen  or  at  most  fifteen  poor 
scholars  who  are  capable  of  refusing  help  to  a  comrade 
in  distress,  even  when  they  defeat  their  own  object  in 
giving  it ;  and  no  ring  can  be  successful  unless  entirely 
made  up  of  exactly  such  hardened  monsters  of  self- 
control.  Reports  are  always  current  at  examination  time 
that  some  particular  "crowd"  has  got  hold  of  a  paper, 
and  enquiries  are  industriously  made  as  to  the  probable 
membership  of  the  "  ring,"  with  a  view  of  working  into 
the  good  graces  of  the  same.  Undoubtedly  there  are 
some  successful  "rings  "  whereof  neither  the  uninitiated 
portion  of  the  class  nor  the  faculty  ever  have  the  least 
suspicion  ;  but  their  number  cannot  be  large,  since  after 
the  danger  is  over  the  temptation  to  boast  of  a  famous 
exploit  is  usually  too  great  for  a  student  to  resist.  Tra 
dition  tells  that  the  questions  of  a  Biennial  paper  were 
once  discovered  by  some  Seniors,  who  occupied  a  room 
immediately  above  the  room  of  a  professor,  and  by 
means  of  powerful  lenses  fitted  to  the  hole  bored  by 
them  in  the  ceiling,  were  able  to  decipher  the  manuscript 
or  print  of  the  examination  paper,  as  it  lay  upon  the 
professor's  desk  or  table.  It  is  also  related  that  when 
the  safe  in  the  treasurer's  office  was  more  easily  ap 
proached  than  now,  a  professional  burglar  was  brought 
on  the  ground,  in  readiness  to  "  crack  "  it,  in  case  the 
examination  papers  were  stored  therein,  as  they  were  not. 
The  system  of  making  up  omitted  recitations  gives 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  one  or  two  frauds  not 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  645 

properly  comprehended  under  the  general  term  of  skin 
ning.  The  essential  object  of  most  of  them  is,  in  mak 
ing  up,  to  substitute  a  different  lesson  in  place  of  the 
one  really  omitted.  There  is  not  much,  difficulty  in  doing 
this,  for  when  a  man  hands  in  his  paper,  giving  the 
date  and  limits  of  his  omitted  lesson,  the  instructor, 
finding  by  reference  to  his  score  book  that  the  date  is 
correct,  generally  takes  it  for  granted  that  the  lesson 
offered  corresponds  to  it.  Now,  if  in  place  of  the  real 
lesson  the  one  just  before  or  just  after  it  be  substituted, 
the  chances  are  that  the  change  will  not  be  noticed, — 
an  interval  of  ten  days  or  a  fortnight  being  supposed  to 
elapse  between  the  times  of  omission  and  making  up. 
If  by  any  possibility,  the  discrepancy  is  detected,  there 
is  no  necessary  implication  of  attempted  fraud,  for  the 
thing  might  happen  by  accident ;  so  regrets  are  simply 
offered  for  the  "mistake,"  and  the  real  omission  is  made 
up  at  a  subsequent  trial.  By  this  process  of  substitution 
an  easy  lesson  may  be  recited  in  place  of  a  hard  one, 
and  the  trouble  of  really  making  good  an  omission  be 
done  away  with.  In  '69,  a  man  made  up  two  successive 
Astronomy  lessons,  by  passing  examination  at  different 
times  on  a  third  lesson,  which  he  had  also  rushed  orig 
inally  at  an  ordinary  recitation.  Stand  may  be  fac 
titiously  raised  by  frequent  make-ups,  even  supposing 
them  to  be  honest  ones  ;  for  while,  on  the  one  hand,  a 
man  is  not  called  up  in  the  ordinary  course  of  recitation 
oftener,  on  an  average,  than  once  in  two  or  three  lessons, 
and  must  be  constantly  prepared  on  the  review  as  well 
as  the  advance  lesson,  on  the  other  hand,  by  getting 
leave  to  omit  and  then  make  up  occasional  recitations, 
he  is  certain  to  be  examined  on  every  one  of  them  and 
credited  with  a  rush  if  he  make  it,  and  the  review  les 
son  is  never  required  of  him.  A  trick  sometimes  played 
in  recitation,  to  save  from  a  flunk  a  man  whom  it  is  im- 


646  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

possible  to  help  otherwise,  is  this  :  Suppose  him  to  have 
been  given  a  problem  at  the  board,  and  to  have  written 
down  a  good  many  proportions  and  formulas,  all  of  which, 
or  at  least  the  results  derived  from  them,  he  knows  to 
be  incorrect.  As  the  time  for  closing  the  recitation 
approaches,  he  manages  to  communicate  his  wish  to 
some  friend  at  work  near  by,  which  friend,  being  "  in 
want  of  more  room,"  suddenly  erases  a  good  share  of 
the  other's  work,  "  before  he  can  have  a  chance  to  pre 
vent  him."  Apologies  to  the  professor  follow:  "I 
thought,  sir,  that  those  figures  had  been  explained." 
"  Well,  well,  be  more  careful  next  time,  and  explain  your 
own  work,  now,  as  far  as  you've  got."  The  other  is 
allowed  to  take  his  seat,  as  there  is  no  time  remaining 
in  which  to  rewrite  his  work  ;  and  so,  with  every  appear 
ance  of  regret  for  having  lost  a  rush,  he  withdraws  to 
his  bench  to  chuckle  in  secret  over  his  escape  from  a 
flunk.  Sometimes,  of  course,  honest  blackboard-work, 
waiting  to  be  explained,  is  accidentally  erased  by  an 
over-careless  mathematician. 

In  the  languages,  as  has  been  implied,  skinning  is 
mostly  confined  to  notes  and  memoranda,  written  in 
recitation  time  upon  the  margins  and  between  the  lines 
of  the  text  books.  Ponying,  however,  is  almost  univer 
sal, — a  good  majority  of  the  class  habitually  using  a 
pony  in  getting  out  their  translations,  and  all  but  a  few 
of  the  others,  say  ten  or  a  dozen,  resorting  to  the  same 
aid  when  hard  pressed  for  time  or  perplexed  by  a  diffi 
cult  passage.  Compositions  are  skinned  bodily  and 
persistently, — the  same  manuscript  being  read  or  handed 
in  three  or  four  different  times,  by  as  many  different 
men,  to  as  many  different  division  masters.  After  thus 
doing  good  service  in  sophomore  year,  when  they  must 
be  written  upon  stated  objects,  they  are  again  brought  to 
light  in  junior  year,  and  used  as  "  forensic  disputations," 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  647 

the  subjects  of  which  the  students  themselves  select ; 
and  after  going  the  rounds  under  this  name,  some  of 
them  are  dragged  up  and  made  to  do  duty  even  in  sen 
ior  year.  There  are  very  few  "  writers"  who  will  not 
readily  lend  their  old  compositions  to  their  lazier  friends 
to  read  or  copy,  and  some  even  consent  to  write  off  special 
pieces  for  the  benefit  of  the  latter.  In  every  class  there 
are  one  or  two,  who,  in  the  slang  of  the  outer  world, 
would  be  called  "  literary  hacks'5 ;  persons,  that  is,  who 
make  a  business  of  supplying  their  classmates  with  the 
lesser  literary  wares  at  prices  varying  from  fifty  cents  to 
five  dollars  a  piece.  The  "  retired  literary  gentlemen, 
living  at  Troy,"  or  elsewhere,  who  periodically  flood 
the  colleges  of  the  country  with  their  circulars,  must  reap 
but  a  very  small  harvest  from  Yale,  therefore,  since  the 
shiftless  and  ignoble  skinners  there  residing  prefer  to 
patronize  home  institutions,  especially  since  by  so  doing 
they  can  secure  better  work  for  less  money.  It  is  prob 
ably  safe  to  say  that  of  all  the  compositions  read  or 
handed  in,  less  than  half  are  what  they  purport  to  be  ; 
that  is,  written  for  the  occasions  on  which  they  are 
offered,  and  by  the  individuals  who  offer  them. 

At  the  roll  call  of  a  large  division  in  senior  year,  an 
absent  man  is  sometimes  answered  for  by  one  who  is 
present,  though  never  except  by  the  former's  request  ; 
since  two  might  answer  at  a  time  and  thus  lead  to  detec 
tion,  or  the  man  may  have  been  excused  in  advance,  or 
may  for  some  reason  wish  to  be  marked  absent.  At 
some  of  the  senior  year  lectures,  too,  men  stand  just 
inside  the  door,  while  the  bell  is  ringing,  stay  there  until 
the  monitor  has  marked  them  "  present,"  and  withdraw 
before  the  lecture  begins, — the  presiding  officer,  mean 
while,  having,  from  the  position  of  his  seat,  no  chance  to 
see  them  at  all.  Cheating  by  placing  false  marks  in  the 
monitor's  book  is  not  very  common,  as  the  book  is  gen- 


648  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

erally  pretty  closely  guarded.  The  record  of  the  choir's 
monitor  has  the  repute  of  being  oftener  tampered  with 
than  the  others.  Making  out  false  church  papers  is  a 
very  common  practice, —  some  who  are  supposed  to 
attend  service  at  Trinity  or  elsewhere  rarely  going  to 
church  at  all.  To  many  of  the  regular  frequenters  of 
the  chapel,  who  are  allowed  two  half-Sundays  a  term  in 
which  to  attend  church  service  in  town,  the  phrase  "  to 
take  out  a  church  paper,"  is  about  synonymous  with  the 
phrase  "  to  take  out  a  leave  to  cut ;"  for  they  always  im 
prove  the  two  half  Sundays  by  taking  a  stroll  out  of 
town,  or  staying  at  their  rooms, — there  to  sleep,  smoke, 
read,  write,  or  cram,. as  the  case  may  be.  It  is  noticea 
ble  that  on  the  last  Sundays  of  the  term,  which  are  the 
ones  preceding  the  examinations,  the  attendance  at 
chapel  is  unusually  slim,  and  its  full  allowance  of  church 
papers — sixteen  each — is  quite  certain  of  being  called  for 
by  every  class. 

In  the  rendering  of  other  sorts  of  excuses,  too,  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  downright  lying.  When  a  man's  marks 
get  close  in  the  neighborhood  of  48,  there  is  nothing 
which  he  will  not  resort  to  in  order  to  get  enough  of 
them  knocked  off  to  allow  him  a  reasonable  margin  for 
accidents.  The  ingenuity  of  college  is  put  to  the 
severest  strain  in  inventing  new  and  plausible  excuses, 
and  the  number  of  minor  diseases  which  "disable  a  man 
from  walking  abroad  "  is  really  surprising.  The  memory 
of  the  grim  humorist  who  wrote  upon  his  excuse  paper, 
"  Sick,  according  to  the  above  directions,"  is  tenderly 
cherished  at  college ;  but  there  is  probably  no  day  in  all 
the  college  year  in  which  excuse  papers,  which,  if  rightly 
understood,  are  no  less  comical,  are  not  handed  in. 
"Letters  home'1 — that  is,  official  notifications  sent  to 
one's  parents  or  guardian,  in  regard  to  his  marks,  or 
"position  on  the  course  of  discipline,"  his  stand,  or 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  649 

"  position  on  the  course  of  literature,"  his  "  leaves  of 
absence,"  "conditions,"  "suspensions," etc. — are  a  great 
bugbear  to  most  students,  and  hence  pains  are  taken  to 
prevent  them  from  reaching  their  destinations.  By  the 
aid  of  a  postmaster,  or  a  brother,  sister,  or  friend  at 
home,  they  are  intercepted  without  much  difficulty,  as 
they  are  usually  enclosed  in  government  stamped  en 
velopes,  bearing  the  imprint,  "  Return  to  Yale  College, 
if  not  delivered  within  ten  days."  In  cases  where  the 
recipient  of  a  letter  home  is  requested  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  it,  the  signature  of  parent  or  guardian,  not 
being  known  to  the  college  authorities,  can  be  easily 
forged. 

Though  skinning  and  kindred  deceptions  have  thus 
been  described  at  length,  it  should  be  carefully  borne  in 
mind  that  they  are  exceptional  manifestations,  and  that 
honest  work  is  generally  the  rule.     When  an  instructor 
detects  a  man  skinning  in  recitation,  he  marks  him  a 
flunk  without  calling  him  up  to  recite,  and  perhaps  with 
out  letting  him  know  that  he  was  discovered.     He  may 
also  give  him  several  marks  for  "  discipline."     A  skin 
ner  detected  at  term  examination,  is  conditioned,  marked 
heavily,  warned,  and  perhaps  suspended.     Still  heavier 
penalties  follow   evil   doing   at    Annual, — while  a  man 
known  to  have  a  share   in  stealing  an  Annual  paper 
would    be    summarily   expelled.      To    help    or    "  skin 
through"    another,    is    officially   looked   upon   as   little 
better  than  skinning  for  one's  self  and  draws  down  the 
same  punishment.     So  numerous  are  the  precautions, 
and  so  severe  are  the  penalties  against  skinning,  that 
the  number  of  habitual  practisers  of  the  art  is  compara 
tively  small.     It  is  one  thing  to  secretly  read  from  a 
book  in  a  crowded  recitation  room,  but  quite  another 
thing  to  successfully  carry  out  some  of  the  elaborate 
schemes  which  have  been  described,  in  a  large  examina- 

29 


650  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

tion  hall.  None  but  the  cheekiest  and  most  self-assured 
men  in  the  class  are  equal  to  these  latter  exploits,  and 
the  very  boldness  and  audacity  of  some  of  the  tricks 
narrated  is  good  proof  of  their  exceptional  character. 

The  general  college  sentiment  in  regard  to  all  such 
matters  is  one  of  approval  for  all  means  calculated  to 
circumvent  and  deceive  those  in  authority, — provided 
that  these  means  are  employed  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  make  no  pretensions  as  scholars^  For  a  high- 
stand  man  to  skin,  or  for  anyone  to  skin  for  a  stand 
simply,  is  looked  upon  as  mean  and  contemptible.  A 
high-oration  man,  for  instance,  who  should  get  and  keep 
his  place  by  skinning,  would  be  despised  and  con 
demned  by  the  general  sentiment  of  the  class.  There 
always  exists  among  the  students  a  sort  of  undefined 
belief  that,  in  the  irrepressible,  conflict  between  them 
selves  and  the  faculty,  the  latter  are  aiming  to  bring  the 
poor  scholars  "below  average  "  and  so  get  rid  of  them  ; 
and  that  it  is  their  own  duty,  in  opposing  this  scheme, 
to  make  use  of  any  aid  which  circumstances  may  afford 
them.  Hence,  very  many  good  scholars,  who  never  skin 
on  their  own  account,  are  persistent  in  their  attempts  to 
cheat  for  the  benefit  of  others ;  and  even  take  counsel 
together  how  a  particular  low-stand  friend  of  theirs  may 
be  saved  from  impending  destruction.  A  poor  scholar 
who  is  too  conscientious  to  skin  is  respected  for  his 
scruples ;  but  a  man  who  is  too  conscientious  to  help 
another  skin — at  least  passively,  as  by  helping  along  to 
its  destination  a  skinning  paper,  prepared  by  some  one 
else — is  thought  little  better  than  a  monomaniac  on  thai 
subject  of  honor,  a  being  too  immaculate  to  breathe  with 
common  men.  As  for  "swearing  off  marks"  and  "Iji 
ing  out  of  excuses,"  public  sentiment  winks  at  the  prac-j 
tice,  good  humoredly,  though  perhaps  not  quite  as 
approvingly  as  at  skinning.  Without  pretending  to 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  651 

defend  its  morality,  it  is  accepted  as  a  sort  of  necessity 
of  the  situation.  Some  men  who  stick  at  no  other  sort 
of  fraud,  however,  will  never  approve  of  making  out 
false  church  papers. 

The  behavior  of  the  students  at  the  various  college 
exercises  is  generally  quiet  and  orderly,  and  it  grows 
better  as  a  class  advances  on  its  way,  except  perhaps 
that  the  upper  classes  get  to  their  scats  a  little  less 
promptly  than  the  lower  ones.  The  individual  instruct 
ors  appear  to  decide  whether  they  will  allow  any  "  ap 
plause  "  in  their  own  rooms;  and  the  practice  is  generally 
discouraged  on  the  ground  of  its  disturbing  the  other 
recitations.  Stiil,  there  is  considerable  of  it,  in  the 
lower-class  recitations ;  and  when  the  occasion  really 
deserves  it,  it  is  seldom  that  the  presiding  officer 
attempts  to  break  it  up.  Perhaps  it  is  a  joke  6*f  his  own, 
or  an  absurd  translation,  or  a  comic  accident  of  some 
sort,  which  excites  the  merriment  of  a  division ;  but 
whatever  it  is,  the  instructor  takes  it  good  naturedly, 
and  marks  are  never  inflicted  in  bringing  such  an  out 
burst  to  a  close.  Sometimes,  at  a  preconcerted  signal, 
as  the  last  stroke  of  twelve,  the  entire  division  will 
cough,  or  cross  their  legs,  or  pull  out  their  handker 
chiefs,  or  turn  their  heads  to  the  right  or  left,  with  very 
odd  effect.  The  wisest  way  and  the  usual  one  for  the 
instructor  to  act  in  such  cases  is  to  pay  no  attention  to 
the  Fritter.  To  display  any  symptoms  of  anger  at  such 
trifles  is  only  to  court  their  repetition  in  the  future.  A 
nervous  Theologue,  who  is  sometimes  temporarily  sub 
stituted  for  a  sick  or  absent  tutor,  may  be  worried  half 
t  >  Ueath  by  his  freshman  pupils,  especially  if  he  attempts 
any  severe  measures.  Beans  and  paper  wads  will  be 
hurled  at  him,  and  in  every  way  he  will  be  insulted  and 
despitefully  used.  Freshmen,  even  in  the  presence  of  a 
well-liked  tutor,  will  sometimes  throwr  paper  wads,  and 


6$ 2  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

light  matches,  and  build  small  bonfires  behind  the 
benches,  and  pass  a  man's  hat  or  his  boot  or  the  stove- 
poker  to  the  end  of  the  room  furthest  from  where  it 
belongs,  and  draw  chalk  sketches  upon  the  floor  and 
upon  each  other's  backs,  and  cut  their  names  or  class 
numeral  or  society  letters  upon  the  benches,  and  use 
their  lead  pencils  to  mark  upon  the  luxuriously  white 
washed  walls.  For  these  latter  offences,  which  were 
formerly  known  as  "  damnifying  the  college  buildings," 
fines  may  be  inflicted,  and  marks  may  be  given  for  any 
Of  the  things  named,  but  as  a  rule  it  is  thought  best  to 
take  no  notice  of  them. 

Freshman  applause  is  loud  and  uproarious, — made  by 
stamping  the  feet  with  full  force  upon  the  floor,  and  is 
aroused  by  the  merest  trifle.  In  -sophomore  year  it  is 
still  common,  but  less  noisy  and  move  discriminating, 
and  made  to  some  extent  by  snapping  the  fingers.  In 
the  last  two  years  it  is  extremely  rare,  and  the  slightest 
word  from  the  presiding  professor  is  sufficient  to  check 
it.  No  objection  is  usually  made  to  snapping  the  fingers 
in  encouragement  of  the  sophomore  compositions  ami 
declamations,  though  the  applause  thus  bestowed  is  not 
very  discriminating.  Most  applause  given  to  the  re 
marks  of  a  professor  in  recitation  or  lecture  comes  from 
a  few,  and  is  intended  ironically,  and  though  the  object 
of  it  accepts  it  in  good  part,  the  bulk  of  the  students 
discountenance  it  and  the  applaud ers,  and  merit  on  it 
among  themselves  as  "too  bad,"  or  "a  regular  disgrace 
to  the  class,"  that  a  few  men  should  show  disrespect  to 
Old  So  and  So.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  accour,: 
great  breach  of  decorum  for  a  college  officer  to  reprove 
a  person  by  name  in  the  presence  of  his  class  or  divis 
ion,  and  one  in  the  habit  of  doing  it  would  soon  dr 
down  upon  himself  the  hatred  and  contempt  of  all  col 
lege. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  '  653 

At  lectures,  only  a  small  share  of  the  class  regularly 
take  notes, — the  majority,  after  making  one  or  two  at 
tempts  at  it,  leaving  their  note-books  behind  as  useless 
encumbrances.  When  examination  time  comes,  if  they 
think  it  necessary  to  cram,  they  can  borrow  some  stand- 
man's  note  book.  Meanwhile  some  of  them  cut,  and 
of  those  who  attend,  some  sleep,  some  read  novels,  some 
write  notes  to  one  another,  and  some  cram  at  their  next 
day's  lesson.  In  the  junior  year  lectures  on  Natural 
Philosophy,  when  the  room  has  to  be  darkened  for  some 
of  the  experiments,  men  change  their  places  from  one 
part  of  the  room  to  another,  and  hats,  note-books  and 
paper  wads  fly  merrily  about.  It  was  then,  too,  in  for 
mer  years,  when  young  ladies  attended  the  show,  that 
sounds  as  of  tremendous  kissings  were  heard,  and 
greeted  with  warm  applause.  From  the  Botany  lectures 
it  is  sometimes  thought  worth  while  to  make  an  egress 
by  jumping  from  the  windo^  though  there  is  too  much 
interest  taken  in  them  to  make  the  habit  anything  but  a 
rare  one.  The  lectures  on  Anatomy  are  the  only  ones 
where  the  students  enter  the  room  in  advance  of  the 
professor,  and  retire  after  him.  The  seats  therein  are 
arranged  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheater  and  rise  sharply 
above  one  another.  The  Seniors  taking  their  places 
upon  these,  laugh,  joke  and  sing  their  songs,  until  a  bell 
warns  them  of  the  professor's  approach  ;  and  as  he  steps 
through  a  side  door  to  his  table,  and  bows  to  them,  they 
acknowledge  his  salute  by  rising  for  a  moment  in  their 
seats.  These  lectures  are  perhaps  the  most  attentively 
listened  to  of  any  that  are  delivered. 

At  morning  prayers,  as  said  before,  there  is  absolutely 
no  tardiness, — every  man  who  enters  the  chapel  at  all 
being  in  his  seat  at  the  last  stroke  of  the  bell.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  cramming  during  the  service,  and  a 
large  share  of  the  heads  which  are  bowed  during  the 


654  POUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

utterance  of  the  prayer  are  possessed  of  eyes  which  are 
eagerly  scanning  the  pages  of  an  opened  text-book. 
During  Sunday  service  there  is  some  reading,  though 
this  cannot  be  called  a  common  practice.  There  is, 
however,  a  great  deal  of  sleeping  and  dozing  ;  and  as  it 
is  against  the  rule  to  bow  the  head  upon  the  seat  in 
front,  except  in  prayer  time,  men  learn  to  sleep  while 
sitting  bolt  upright,  and  in  every  other  imaginable  pos 
ture  which  will  not  expose  them  to  detection.  "Corner 
scats  "  are  therefore  on  Sunday  more  popular  than  ever. 
A  trick  seldom  played  by  anyone  save  Seniors,  is  for  a 
man,  after  being  marked  "present"  by  the  monitor,  to 
withdraw  during  the  long  prayer.  With  the  exceptions 
noted,  the  decorum  which  reigns  in  chapel  is  very 
strict, — applause,  rushing,  loud  talking,  or  confusion  of 
any  sort  being  altogether  unknown.  Sometimes,  when 
a  very  tedious  preacher  has  reached  his  "sixthly"  or 
"seventhly,"  and  shows  no»igns  of  stopping,  a  general 
movement  of  uneasiness  goes  over  the  house  as  a  gentle 
hint  that  the  audience  are  tired  of  hearing  him.  This 
never  happens  without  great  provocation,  however,  and 
the  noise  made  is  not  loud, — the  share  contributed  by 
each  individual  being  so  small  as  to  be  imperceptible. 
One  time,  a  '69  Freshman  who  "helped  on  the  cause," 
by  sliding  himself  the  whole  length  of  his  pew,  was  sus 
pended  for  a  term  in  consequence.  Once,  too,  when 
the  president  announced  in  chapel  a  change  of  fifteen 
minutes  in  the  time  of  ringing  the  prayer  bell,  a  faint 
moving  of  feet,  by  way  of  applause,  was  detected  to 
come  from  the  seats  of  the  Fresh  of  '69,  and  the  class 
was  laughed. at  for  a  week  by  all  college,  on  account  of 
its  foolish  temerity.  Slight  as  it  was,  it  was  the  only 
manifestation  of  the  sort  known  to  a  chapel  service  dur 
ing  the  whole  four  years  of  '69,  and  probably  for  a  much 
longer  period. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  655 

Most  instructors,  in  calling  a  man  up  in  recitation, 
simply  address  him  by  his  surname,  though  a  few  have 
a  habit  of, prefixing  the  "Mr."  Initials  are  used  to  dis 
tinguish  men  having  the  same  surname,  but  the  latter  is 
the  only  one  ever  uttered  in  full.  The  faculty  speak  to 
and  of  one  another  as  "  Mr." — never  as  "  Prof." — So 
and  So,  and  the  highest  officer  of  the  college  is  not 
called  by  his  name  at  all,  but  is  addressed  and  spoken 
of  as  "the  president."  The  students,  too,  among  them 
selves,  rarely  mention  his  name  unless  preceded  with 
the  title  "  Prex,"  which  is  oftener  used  alone  to  designate 
him.  Among  the  Seniors,  the  modified  form  of  "  Prexy" 
is  somewhat  in  vogue,  in  familiar  talk.  All  other  college 
officers  are  spoken  of  simply  by  their  surnames,  without 
official  prefix  of  any  sort;  except  of  course  in  interviews 
with  members  of  the  faculty,  or  in  formal  conversation 
of  any  sort,  when  they  are  referred  to  as  "Prof." — or 
Tutor — So  and  So.  Four  only  of  the  professors  have 
nicknames  of  any  sort :  Loomis,  Hadley,  and  Newton, 
who  are  known  as  "  Loom,"  "  Had,"  and  "  Newt,"  gen 
erally  with  the  prefix  "  Old " ;  and  Thacher,  who  is 
called,  from  his  first  name,  "Tommy."  The  names  are 
applied  good-naturedly  enough,  without  any  special  im 
plication  of  hostility,  and  are  used  only  by  those  who 
have  had  to  do  with  their  owners.  No  college  officer, 
in  fact,  is  often  thought  of  or  mentioned  at  all  except 
by  those  who  have  recited  to  him.  "  Old,"  as  a  chance 
epithet  of  little  significance,  is  applied  at  odd  times  to 
almost  every  one ;  but  the  rule  holds  good  that,  in  com 
mon  talk,  the  simple  surname  of  a  college  officer  is  the 
one  by  which  he  is  referred  to.  A  student  usually 
touches  his  hat  when  he  meets  upon  the  street  an  in 
structor  with  whom  he  is  acquainted  ;  sometimes  he  does 
the  same  to  the  older  officials  whom  he  will  come  to 
know  in  process  of  time ;  and  a  similar  salute  is  in  all 


656  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

cases  returned.  An  upper-class  man,  however,  never 
"recognizes"  the  lower-class  tutors  with  whom  he  is 
unacquainted.  A  student  meeting  an  acquaintance  of 
his  own  or  another  class,  simply  nods  in  recognition, 
but  never  lifts  his  hat ;  unless,  of  course,  he  or  his  friend 
be  accompanied  by  a  lady. 

During  the  first  two  years,  and  to  some  extent  in  the 
third,  whenever  an  instructor  closes  his  connection  with 
a  class,  he  is  "cheered"  in  this  way  :  Each  division,  at 
the  close  of  its  last  recitation  to  him,  forms  in  a  body  out 
side,  and — "lead  off"  by  its  loudest-voiced  man,  who 
perhaps  puts  in  a  complimentary  word  or  two,  in  his  pro 
posal — gives  "  three  time  three"  or,  oftener,  "  three  times 
nine"  cheers  for  this  or  that  tutor  or  professor.  As  the 
four  freshman  instructors  generally  leave  the  class  at 
the  close  of  that  year,  there  are  sixteen  farewell  "cheer- 
ings"  from  that  class  alone,  included  in  the  space  of  two 
days  or  less  ;  while  nearly  as  many  more  from  the  Soph 
omores  and  a  few,  perhaps,  from  the  Juniors  are  given 
forth  at  about  the  same  time.  Even  the  least  popular 
instructors  get  their  full  share  of  cheers,  though  perhaps 
in  these  cases  they  may  not  be  rendered  with  their  wonted 
heartiness  ;  while  each  division  generally  shouts  more 
energetically  for  its  own  division-master,  than  for  the 
other  instructors  whom  it  cheers.  Members  of  the  fac 
ulty  make  no  sign  in  recognition  of  the  compliment 
thus  paid  them,  but  they  accept  the  custom  good  na- 
turedly,  and  spite  of  its  interrupting  some  of  the  recita 
tions,  they  each  year  allow  it  to  be  celebrated.  The 
Seniors  offer  cheers  in  front  of  the  Medical  College,  at 
the  close  of  the  last  lecture,  and  in  the  same  way  speak 
their  adieus  to  the  college  and  its  highest  officials,  at  the 
close  of  Presentation  Day. 

Perhaps  the  fate  of  the  forty  Sophs  of  '32 — one  third 
the  class — who  were  expelled  for  attempting  to  "  remon- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  6^7 

strate,"  or  "  dictate,"  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  studying 
Conic  Sections  ;  or  the  issue  of  the  Commons  Rebellion 
of  1828,  which  was  entered  into,  and  backed  out  of,  by 
a  good  share  of  all  college  ;  may  account  for  the  senti 
ment,  but  at  all  events  the  sentiment  exists,  that  a  fight 
against  the  faculty  would  be  a  hopeless  one.  Their 
power  is  felt  to  be  absolute,  and  is  the  last  thing  in  the 
world  which  the  student  ever  thinks  of  disputing ;  but 
as  it  is  often  exercised  in  what  the  student  considers 
an  arbitrary  and  unreasonable  manner,  he  "defends 
himself"  by  resorting  to  sharp  practice  and  every  mode 
of  deception  which  his  wits  can  conjure  up.  It  is  a 
common  thing  to  speak  and  think — half  in  joke  and  half 
in  earnest — of  the  faculty,  in  the  abstract,  as  a  body 
prone  to  act  arbitrarily  in  all  things,  intolerant  of  all 
opposition  or  remonstrance,  however  mildly  presented, 
and  stubbornly  bent  on  enforcing  all  its  decrees,  no'mat- 
tcr  how  manifestly  absurd.  "If  you  want  to  argue 
effectively,"  says  one,  "go  out  and  talk  to  that  elm  tree, 
but  do  n't  waste  your  breath  on  the  faculty."  "  That's 
so,"  says  another  ;  "  reserve  your  common  sense  for 
those  who  can  appreciate  it.  When  you've  made  the 
sun  rise  in  the  west,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  attempt 
other  miracles." 

Personally,  however,  the  members  of  the  faculty  are 
looked  at  in  a  very  different  light.  With  scarcely  an 
exception,  they  are  thoroughly  respected  by  the  students, 
and  deliberate  insults  and  embarrassments  are  never 
placed  upon  them.  Tricks  which  prevail  at  other  col 
leges,  such  as  locking  an  instructor  in  his  recitation 
room  or  dormitory,  throwing  water  upon  him,  stealing 
his  clothes  or  other  property,  upsetting  his  chair  in  reci 
tation  or  tripping  him  up  outside,  writing  or  printing 
derisive  or  scurrilous  remarks  in  regard  to  him,  and  so 
on  to  the  end  of  the  list,  are  all  obsolete  at  Yale :  not 

29* 


658  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

because  they  could  not  be  played  with  perfect  impunity, 
but  because  the  general  college  sentiment  condemns 
them  as  unmanly  and  indecent.  The  same  sentiment 
says  there  is  nothing  humorous  in  tampering  with  the 
college  bell,  and  so  it  is  let  severely  alone.  Once,  while 
'69  was  in  college,  some  sneak  entered  the  chapel  and 
lugged  off  the  Bible  from  the  pulpit  ;  but  no  one 
laughed  at  or  approved  of  the  deed,  and  had  its  perpe 
trator  been  known  he  would  have  been  ostracized  by 
all  the  decent  men  of  his  class.  The  same  would  be 
true  of  any  practisers  of  the  tricks  which  have  been 
referred  to  ;  for  it  is  not  a  popular  thing  to  insult  or  show 
disrespect  for  the  faculty.  A  man  may  cheat  his  in 
structor  in  recitation,  lie  to  him  concerning  marks,  curse 
him  in  private  for  his  "ugliness," — and  his  comrades 
look  on  unmoved,  if  not  approving ;  but  the  moment  he 
offers  him  the  least  disrespect  and  insult,  he  finds  every 
man's  hand  turned  against  himself.  For  the  undergrad 
uates — spite  of  the  "meanness,"  and  "tyranny,"  and 
"  oppression"  of  those  in  authority — really  have  an  odd 
feeling  akin  to  admiration  for  their  instructors,  and  they 
will  not  see  them  abused  or  ill-treated  by  anyone.  They 
rather  enjoy  having  them  "  stand  upon  their  dignity," 
and  are  apt  to  resent  the  idea  that  there  should  be  any 
familiarity  between  the  two  "  hostile  elements,"  either  in 
the  recitation  room  or  outside  it,  beyond  what  is  required 
by  the  official  regulations.  This  feeling  reaches  its 
climax  in  the  case  of  the  president,  whom  the  under 
graduates,  spite  of  their  familiar  talk  about  him  in  pri 
vate,  really  look  up  to  with  a  respect  and  veneration  so 
deep  as  to  be  almost  akin  to  a  superstitious  awe ;  and 
whom  they  would  no  more  think  of  showing  the  least 
disrespect  to  than  a  pious  Mussulman  would  think  of 
desecrating  the  Holy  Stone  at  Mecca. 


CHAPTER   V. 
snows. 

Junior  Exhibition — Time  and  Place  of  Holding  It — Its  Recent 
Transformation — Managers  and  Invitation  Notes — The  Exer 
cises  and  their  Value — The  Promenade  Concert — Commence 
ment — Rules  for  the  Attendance  of  the  Seniors — The  Procession 
— Arrangement  of  the  Audience — The  Speakers  and  the  Lis 
teners — Conferring  the  Degrees — The  Dinner  and  the  Evening 
— Recent  Changes  in  the  Show — Its  Celebration  in  the  Olden 
Time — Gunpowder,  Rum  and  Riot — The  Official  Calendar — The 
Society  of  the  Alumni — Concio  ad  Clerum — The  Obituary  Rec 
ord —  The  General  Statement— The  Annual  Catalogue  — The 
Triennial  Catalogue— The  Alumni  Associations  in  the  Cities. 

Junior  Exhibition  apparently  originated  at  about  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  a  Sophomore 
Exhibition,  of  the  same  general  character,  is  said  for  a 
time  to  have  preceded  or  been  co  existent  with  it.  It  is 
held  at  the  close  of  the  second  term  of  junior  year, — 
sometimes  on  Monday  or  Wednesday,  but  almost  always 
on  Tuesday,  of  the  last  or  next  to  the  last  week  of  that 
term, — the  chapel  being  the  traditional  place  for  holding 
it,  though  by  most  of  the  classes  between  '55  and  '70 
the  College  Street  Church  was  employed  instead.  In 
the  old  times,  all  holders  of  "  orations,"  "  dissertations," 
and  "  disputes,"  and  perhaps  even  lower  appointments, 
used  to  be  allowed  to  speak,  but  more  recently  the  num 
ber  of  speakers  was  only  about  half  as  great,  and  places 
upon  the  programme  were  decided  by  the  merit  of  the 
pieces  handed  in, — holders  of  the  two  upper  grades  of 
appointments  being  obliged,  and  none  others  being 
allowed,  to  write  in  competition  therefor.  This  plan  was 


660  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

applied  to  the  three  classes,  '69  to  '71,  in  connection 
with  the  practice  of  limiting  the  exhibition  to  one  ses 
sion,  held  between  the  hours  of  two  and  six  in  the  after 
noon.  In  the  thirteen  classes,  '56  to  '68,  it  had  been 
customary  to  hold  a  second  session,  commencing  at 
about  seven  in  the  evening  ;  and  for  at  least  thirty  years 
preceding,  there  had  been  a  forenoon  and  afternoon  ses 
sion  of  the  show, — the  former  beginning  at  eight,  half 
past  eight,  or  nine  o'clock,  as  the.  case  might  be,  and  the 
latter  opening  at  about  two.  To  judge  from  an  invita 
tion-bill,  the  exhibition  of  '22  consisted  of  a  single  ses 
sion,  for  it  opened  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  and 
perhaps  its  predecessors  resembled  it  in  this  respect. 
The  second  session  of  a  divided  show  usually  attracted 
the  larger  audience.  At  the  opening  of  the  academic 
year  of  1870-71,  the  question  of  the  abolition  of  the 
exhibition  came  up  for  discussion  before  the  faculty,  but 
they  finally  decided  to  transform  it  into  a  "  prize  speak 
ing"  ;  and  under  the  name  of  Junior  Prize  Exhibition, 
the  "  ten  best  speakers"  among  the  appointment  men  of 
'72,  were  this  year  made  to  exhibit  themselves,  at  the 
usual  time  and  place.  The  choice  was  made  in  this 
wise  :  all  members  of  the  class  having  an  appointment 
higher  than  second  dispute  were  obliged  to  write  an 
essay  on  one  of  seven  assigned  subjects,  which  essay 
had  to  be  of  such  length  that  its  delivery  in  public  would 
not  require  more  than  twelve  minutes  of  time.  From 
these  forty  or  more  competing  essays,  the  ten  best  were 
selected,  and  their  writers  each  rewarded  with  a  $10 
prize.  The  ten  prize  men  then  declaimed  their  orations 
in  the  chapel,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  faculty  decreed  an 
extra  prize  of  $50  to  the  one  whom  they  judged  the 
best  speaker.  The  only  music  was  an  opening  voluntary 
on  the  organ,  and  the  singing  of  the  college  glee-club. 
There  were  but  three  ushers,  who  were  appointed  from 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  66 1 

the  class  by  the  faculty,  and  who,  like  the  speakers, 
were  arrayed  in  the  regulation  dress-suit  of  black, — 
though  it  was  specially  announced  that  this  custom  of  the 
old  Junior  Ex  would  not  be  required  in  the  new.  The 
programmes  were  plainly  printed  and  bore  simply  the 
names  of  the  orators  and  their  orations.  All  expenses 
attending  the  exhibition  were  borne  by  the  college 
authorities.  The  attendance  was  good,  and  the  show 
was  voted  by  all  a  great  improvement  on  its  predeces 
sors,  which  had  for  some  years  been  a  sort  of  college 
laughing  stock. 

The  details  of  the  old-fashioned  Junior  Ex  —  now 
happily  obsolete — used  to  be  arranged  by  a  committee, 
chosen  by  the  junior  class,  at  the  time  of  electing  its 
Cochs  and  Lit.  editors,  or  at  a  later  meeting  called  for 
that  special  purpose.  They  served  as  ushers  at  the 
exhibition,  secured  the  music,  attended  to  the  prome 
nade,  etc.  Traditionally,  there  were  nine  members  of 
this  committee,  and  they  were  known  as  "  managers  "  ; 
but  the  number  sometimes  varied,  and  the  title,  toward 
the  close,  had  become  obsolete,  except  upon  the  printed 
programmes.  Low-stand  men,  or  at  all  events  those 
who  had  no  chance  of  speaking  at  the  exhibition,  were 
latterly  generally  chosen  on  the  committee  ;  and,  though 
election  to  the  same  was  still  thought  to  be  something  of 
an  honor,  there  was  not  the  least  electioneering  or 
excitement  over  the  matter,  as  in  the  old  days  when  to 
become  one  of  the  "managers"  was  a  most  worthy 
object  of  junior  ambition.  The  printed  programmes  of 
the  show — indicating  the  names  and  residences,  themes 
and  rank,  of  those  who  spoke,  but  not  the  names  of  the 
other  appointment-men — were  furnished  by  the  faculty, 
but  the  other  expenses  of  the  exhibition  rested  with  the 
class.  The  heaviest  item  in  these  was  the  cost  of  the 
music,  and  it  was  chiefly  to  help  pay  for  this  that  the 


652  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Promenade  Concert  was  instituted.  The  committee 
palmed  off  as  many  tickets  as  possible  upon  their  own 
and  the  lower  classes,  and  to  meet  the  deficit  a  tax 
usually  had  to  be  levied.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  or 
more,  ending  about  the  year  1845,  it  had  been  cus 
tomary  to  issue  steel-engraved  invitation-notes  ;  by  which, 
over  the  names  of  the  "  managers,"  "  the  company  of 

was  requested,"  at  such  and  such  time  and  place, 

to  attend  the  exercises  of  Junior  Exhibition.  -  These 
invitations  were  generally  embellished  with  some  elab 
orate  classical  or  mythological  design,  accompanied  by 
an  appropriate  motto,  and  were  printed  upon  gilt-edged 
note-paper,  of  various  tints,  as  was  the  fashion  of  those 
days.  At  the  time  referred  to,  the  corporation,  thinking 
the  custom  extravagant  and  unnecessary,  passed  a 
special  law  forbidding  it ;  and  for  a  dozen  years  or  so, 
ending  perhaps  with  '58,  common  type  printed  invita 
tions  were  sent  out.  These,  in  addition,  bore  upon  the 
inner  page  a  list  of  the  speakers,  and  a  notice  as  to  the 
music  and  the  times  of  commencing  the  exercises.  In 
'55  an  invitation  note  of  this  sort,  but  steel-engraved 
like  the  old  ones,  was  issued ;  and  the  steel-engraved 
Spoon-invitations  of  that  class  greatly  resembled  it. 
The  idea  of  these  pictured  steel-plate  Spoon-invitations, 
which  were  last  issued  by  '67,  was,  as  stated  in  another 
chapter,  borrowed  from  the  obsolete  custom  of  Junior  Ex. 
In  turn,  the  more  recent  style  of  Spoon-invitations,  intro 
duced  by  '68,  was  adopted  by  '70  for  its  Junior  Ex, — no 
invitation  of  any  sort  having  been  sent  out  in  the  latter's 
behalf  for  a  dozen  years  preceding, — and  the  committee 
of '72  also  issued  similar  elaborately  designed  invitations 
to  their  Junior  Promenade.  The  college  law  against 
the  issue  of  engraved  invitations  or  tickets,  though  it 
still  stands  on  the  statute-book,  has  long  been  practically 
obsolete,  and  will  probably  never  be  revived  again, — 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  663 

though  the  growing  tendency  in  college  to  substitute 
costly  steel-engraving  on  every  little  occasion,  where 
ordinary  letter-press  printing  would  answer  as  well,  is 
already  beginning  to  be  cried  out  against  by  some,  as 
resulting  in  a  needless  waste  of  money. 

At  the  exhibition,  the  president  presided,  and  in  a  set 
Latin  formula  called  off  the  names  of  the  speakers,  who 
as  they  mounted  the  stage,  first  bowed  to  him,  and  then 
saluted  the  audience.  He  also  made  a  prayer  at  the 
opening  of  the  exercises.  Most  of  the  faculty  sat  in 
the  front  pews,  and  some  of  the  trustees  made  it  a  point 
to  be  present  also.  The  "  Latin  oration  "  was  always 
the  first  speech  delivered,  and  the  "  Greek  oration " 
always  introduced  the  second  session  of  the  exhibition, 
if  there  were  two  sessions.  Another  "philosophical 
oration  "  in  English,  was  always  the  last  speech  delivered. 
The  other  speeches  were  distributed  between  these  in 
such  a  way  as  to  secure  as  much  variety  as  possible  in 
the  exhibition.  Each  speaker  chose  his  own  theme, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  professor  in  Rhetoric,  and 
was  allowed  eight  minutes  in  which  to  discourse  there 
upon.  Between  every  two  or  three  of  the  speeches  there 
was  "  music  by  the  band," — which  music  was  the  most 
attractive  feature  of  the  show,  and,  in  fact,  the  only 
thing  connected  with  it  in  which  the  undergraduates 
took  any  great  interest.  Many  of  them  used  to  go  in, 
between  whiles,  to  listen  to  the  playing,  and  withdraw  as 
soon  as  the  speaking  recommenced.  A  particularly 
good  or  a  particularly  bad  speaker,  however,  would  be 
apt  to  attract  in  quite  a  number  of  his  classmates  with 
the  avowed  purpose  of  hearing  him.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  always  a  good  attendance  at  the  show ;  for 
the  fathers  and  mothers  and  family  connections  of  the 
speakers,  and  the  young  lady  friends  of  the  class  and 
the  college,  and  the  townspeople  generally,  who  still 


664  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

clung  to  the  superstition  that  this  was  one  of  the  great 
representative  displays  of  student  culture  and  ability, — 
all  these  were  there,  listening  to  the  music,  admiring  the 
eloquence,  and  giving  to  each  one  who  recited  his  lesson 
his  even  modicum  of  applause. 

The  Junior  Promenade  Concert  is  not  a  very  ancient 
affair, — its  predecessor,  the  Junior  Ball,  of  thirty  years 
ago,  being  held  at  the  close  of  the  year  in  August,  and 
having  no  connection  with  the  exhibition  proper.  The 
musical  part  of  the  latter  entertainment  used  to  be  fur 
nished  by  the  same  Beethoven  orchestra  which  performed 
at  evening  chapel ;  and  even  after  the  organ  was  pro 
cured  it  was  thought  a  sufficient  attraction  if  some 
locally-famous  player  was  secured  to  perform  thereon  at 
the  season  in  question.  But  when  it  became  a  custom 
to  import  Dodswortlvs  and  other  famous  bands  from 
New  York,  it  was  thought  best  to  combine  pleasure  with 
economy  and  institute  a  Junior  Promenade.  The  first 
class  to  do  this  was  '51,  and  from  '63  to  '72  there  has 
been  no  break  in  the  celebration.  Ending  with  '68,  the 
promenade  used  to  be  held  the  evening  before  the 
exhibition  ;  for  the  next  three  classes  it  happened  on 
that  evening  itself;  but  the  present  year  the  Juniors  of 
'72  set  February  15  as  the  night,  in  order  to  anticipate 
the  lenten  season,  and  secure  a  larger  attendance.  This 
last  promenade  was  of  course  under  the  charge  of  a 
committee  elected  specially  to  attend  to  it,  as  no 
"  managers "  were  required  for  the  exhibition  itself. 
The  earlier  promenades  used  also  to  be  under  an  inde 
pendent  direction,  and  to  have  only  a  remote  connection 
with  Junior  Ex.  The  dancing,  nominally  beginning  at 
eight,  usually  continues  until  two  or  three  in  the  morn 
ing, — though  the  attendance  is  fullest  between  the  hours 
of  ten  and  eleven.  This  attendance  is  very  select, 
though — whether  because  the  promenade  often  occurs 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  665 

in  -Lent,  or  is  unattended  by  other  attractive  college 
exhibitions— it  comprises  but  few  from  outside  the  city, 
and  is  much  less  brilliant  than  at  the  Spoon  Promenade 
of  a  few  months  later,  by  which  it  has  hitherto  been 
somewhat  overshadowed,— the  superior  and  constantly 
increasing  attractions  of  the  latter  celebration  having 
rather  deadened  the  interest  in  the  former,  in  much  the 
same  way  as  the  Spoon  Presentation  itself  had  taken 
away  all  glory  from  Junior  Ex.  It  may  be  worth  remark 
ing  that  upon  the  old  invitations  to  exhibition  and  to 
ball,  the  college  was  spoken  of  as  "  Yale  University," — 
a  title  which  is  never  affected  now-a  days  among  the 
students. 

"  Commencement "  is  the  oldest  anniversary  connected 
with  the  college, — the  name  having  been  applied  to  the 
closing  exercises  of  the  academic  year  from  the  very 
foundation  of  the  institution, — and  hence  it  is  still  looked 
upon  by  the  public  at  large  as  the  most  important  one. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  its  glories  have  mostly 
departed  ("  before  the  progress  of  civilization,"  as  the 
students  say),  and  among  the  undergraduates  it  is  now 
only  thought  of  as  being  "  the  day  before  the  University 
race."  In  '69*3  time  it  occurred  on  that  Thursday  of 
July  which  lacked  a  day  of  being  four  weeks  from  the 
time  (Friday)  when  the  Seniors  finished  their  last  An 
nual,  and  was  one  day  more  than  three  weeks  after 
Presentation,  which  always  occurred  on  Wednesday. 
From  time  immemorial,  Presentation  came  six  weeks 
before  Commencement,  until  1866,  when  the  interval 
was  diminished  to  four  weeks  ;  the  next  year  it  suffered 
a  still  further  reduction  to  three  weeks,  one-half  the 
original  period  ;  and,  at  last,  the  present  year,  the  three 
weeks  were  contracted  into  two  days,  and  Presentation 
appointed  for  the  Tuesday  before  Commencement,  which 
was  set  at  the  second  Thursday  of  July.  Under  the  old  ar- 


66  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

rangement,  on  the  Saturday  before  Presentation,— that  is, 
the  day  after  the  Seniors  had  finished  their  Annual,— 
the  president  announced  to  them  the  official  regulations 
in  regard  to  their  conduct  in  the  future.  These  were, 
that,  after  attending  prayers  on  the  morning  of  Present 
ation  Day,  all  who  had  no  special  work  assigned  them— 
such  as  the  making  up  of  conditions,  or  the  correction 
of  Commencement  pieces — would'  be  excused  from  all 
further  attendance  upon  college  exercises  and  residence 
in  New  Haven,  until  the  Saturday*before  Commence 
ment,  when  they  would  be  expected  to  return,  in  order 
to  present  themselves  at  the  chapel  on  Sunday  afternoon 
and  listen  to  the  "  baccalaureate  sermon,"  delivered  for 
their  benefit,  and  on  Thursday  to  join  in  the  Commence 
ment  procession  and  attend  the  literary  exercises ;  that 
all  charges  due  the  treasurer  would  have  to  be  paid 
him  by  the  last  Monday  of  the  term  ;  that  those  remain 
ing  in  their  usual  college  rooms  would  still  be  under 
college  control  and  must  so  behave  themselves  as  not 
to  interrupt  the  under-class  men  in  their  studies ;  and 
that  excuses  to  be  absent  from  Commencement  alto 
gether  could  only  be  granted  for  special  cause.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  no  marks  were  given  or  attempts 
made  to  trace  a  man's  whereabouts  later  than  Present 
ation  morning,  and  if  he  left  town  then  and  never 
returned  to  it,  the  faculty  never  knew  the  difference.  A 
third  or  more  of  every  class  were  always  absent  from 
the  ''baccalaureate  discourse"  and  graduation  exercises, 
to  which  their  presence  was  supposed  to  be  an  aid,  and 
only  a  small  portion  of  these  absent  ones  ever  took  the 
trouble  to  ask  a  formal  excuse  in  advance.  As  for  the 
three  lower  classes,  all  their  Annuals  were  finished  on 
the  Friday  before,  on  which  morning  chapel  prayers 
were  held  for  the  last  time,  so  that  most  of  them  had 
gone  home,  and  the  few  who  remained  were  only  awaiting 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  667 

the  approach  of  the  University  race, — endeavoring  thus 
to  make  their  stay  in  Worcester  as  short  as  possible. 
Under  the  new  arrangement,  it  is  possible  that  chapel 
prayers  may  be  persisted  in  till  Commencement  morn 
ing,  and  the  presence  of  all  the  undergraduates  required 
till  then. 

At  about  half-past  eight  o'clock  of  Commencement 
morning,  attracted  by  the  ringing  of  the  bell  and  the 
playing  of  a  band  of  music,  the  Seniors,  alumni,  and 
faculty  assemble  in  front  of  the  Lyceum,  and  form  in 
procession.  Theoretically  the  lower  classes  are  still 
supposed  to  take  part  in  the  same,  as  they  did  actually 
in  the  olden  times,  and  the  senior  tutor  in  forming  the 
procession,  still  calls  upon  "  the  Freshmen  ! — the  Soph 
omores  ! — the  Juniors  !" — to  take  their  places  in  the 
ranks,  without  eliciting  any  further  response  than  a  few 
derisive  grins  from  the  scattered  representatives  of  those 
classes  who  may  be  hanging  about  in  his  vicinity.  The 
Scientifics !  are  then  called  for,  then  the  Seniors,  then 
the  alumni,  youngest  first,  and  lastly  the  trustees,  faculty 
and  president.  In  this  order,  the  procession,  preceded 
by  the  band,  marches  in  double  file  to  the  Center 
Church,  at  the  door  of  which  the  ranks  are  opened, 
heads  are  uncovered,  and  the  dignitaries  in  the  rear 
pass  between  the  rows  and  go  first  through  the  entrance, 
followed  by  the  rest  of  the  procession  in  the  reverse 
order  of  marching.  The  president  sits  within  the  pulpit, 
and  the  faculty,  trustees  and  other  important  personages 
take  positions  on  the  stage  beside  him,  while  the  body 
of  the  alumni  occupy  the  central  pews,  and  the  graduat 
ing  class  those  upon  the  right  side  of  the  south  aisle. 
The  galleries  and  certain  pews  on  either  side  the  stage 
are  reserved  exclusively  for  ladies,  and  the  remaining 
seats  of  the  house  are  open  to  the  general  public. 
Benches  and  settees  are  placed  along  the  aisles,  and 


668  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

these,  as  well  as  all  available  standing  places  about  the 
doors,  are  always  crowded  with  spectators.  The  regular 
church  ushers  act  as  tip-staves  in  assigning  seats  and 
preserving  order,  and  one  or  two  policemen  are  usually 
in  readiness  outside  to  suppress  any  disturbance.  For 
merly,  when  Commencement  was  observed  as  a  sort  of 
general  holiday  throughout  the  city  and  State,  the  honest 
country  folk  for  miles  around  used  to  flock  in  to  the 
celebration,  coming  on  foot  or  horseback  or  in  every 
imaginable  kind  of  vehicle,  and  swarming  about  the 
church  steps  for  hours  before  the  time  of  opening  the 
doors.  When  at  last  an  entrance  could  be  made,  there 
was  a  rush,  a  crush,  and  a  jam,  until  every  available 
inch  of  space  had  been  taken  up.  Many  thought  them 
selves  lucky  if  they  could  secure  eligible  standing  places, 
and  more  had  to  be  content  with  such  fragments  of 
student  eloquence  as  could  be  caught  by  standing  guard 
outside  the  doors  and  windows.  The  issue  of  checks 
for  reserved  seats  to  the  "  friends  of  the  class,"  who  did 
not  join  in  the  procession,  sometimes  made  the  conten 
tion  the  sharper  for  the  sittings  which  were  not  reserved. 
Even  now,  quite  a  crowd  assembles  in  advance  of  the 
opening  of  the  doors,  and  all  the  allowed  space  is  well 
filled  before  the  arrival  of  the  procession. 

The  exercises  are  opened  and  closed  with  a  prayer 
from  the  president  or  some  one  of  the  trustees,  and 
music  is  occasionally  sandwiched  in  between  the 
speeches.  The  first  one  of  these  is  the  "salutatory,"  in 
Latin  ;  all  the  others,  ending  up  with  the  "  valedictory," 
are  in  English.  The  opening  and  closing  speakers 
make  separate  addresses  to  the  president  and  faculty, 
the  class  and  the  audience ;  and  the  class  rise  in  their 
seats  when  the  valedictory  is  being  delivered  to  them. 
The  other  speakers  simply  bow  to  the  president  as  they 
mount  the  stage,  and  then  address  themselves  to  the 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  669 

audience.  Their  subjects  are  chosen  by  themselves,  as 
at  Junior  Exhibition,  and  their  places  upon  the  pro 
gramme  are  decided,  as  then,  with  a  view  of  contrasting 
different  sorts  of  productions,  and  causing  the  better 
and  poorer  speakers  to  alternate  with  each  other.  All 
in  the  class  who  have  a  stand  higher  than  that  of  "  col 
loquy  "  are  obliged  to  hand  in  a  Commencement  piece 
at  the  close  of  the  second  term,  and  from  these  a  dozen 
of  the  best  are  selected  for  delivery  on  the  day  in  ques 
tion, — though  all  the  holders  of  "  philosophical "  are 
expected  to  speak,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  most  of 
the  rest  who  are  chosen  are  "  oration-men  "  of  some 
sort.  Almost  all  of  the  Seniors  who  are  in  town  on 
Commencement  Day  make  it  a  point  to  be  present 
during  the  delivery  of  the  salutatory  and  valedictory 
orations,  but  the  other  pieces  are  listened  to  by  few  or 
by  many  of  the  class,  as  it  may  happen.  At  the  close 
of  every  speech,  and  especially  during  the  interludes  of 
music,  some  of  the  class,  and  some  also  of  the  general 
audience,  go  out,  and  others  come  in,  and  the  number 
of  Seniors  who  sit  through  the  whole  performance  is 
very  small, — many  of  them  in  fact  going  in  only  at  the 
opening  and  close  of  the  exercises.  On  the  last  page 
of  the  printed  programme  which  exhibits  the  themes, 
names,  and  residences  of  the  speakers,  is  given  a  list  of 
the  "honors,"  that  is  the  names  of  all  appointment- 
men,  together  with  their  residences.  The  names  are 
not  displayed  alphabetically  under  each  grade,  but  ac 
cording  to  individual  rank,  and  two  or  more  persons 
having  the  same  rank  are  bracketed  together.  Every 
speaker  is  of  course  applauded,  and  bouquets  are  some 
times  thrown  them  by  their  lady  friends,  though  the  latter 
practice  is  now  getting  to  be  rare  at  all  college  exhibi 
tions,  and  compliments  of  the  sort  are  apt  to  expose 
their  recipients  to  considerable  chaffing  from  their  com 
rades. 


670  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

The  titles  of  the  performances  at  the  Commencement 
of '69  were  :  "  Robert  Burns,"  "  German  Liberty,"  "  Olden 
Barneveldt,"  "  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby,"  "  The  Failure  of 
Protestantism,"  "The  Eastern  Question,"  "  Ochloch- 
racy,"  "  Free  Trade,"  "  A  Plea  for  Shylocks,"  "  Railroads 
and  'the  Government,"  "  The  Fictions  of  History," 
"  Macchiavelli's  Art  of  War,"  "  The  Heresy  of  Specula 
tion,"  and  "  College  Friendships  "  with  the  valedictory 
addresses.  At  the  Junior  Exhibition  of  the  same  class 
the  titles  were  :  "  De  satirarum  scriptoribus  Romanis," 
"William  H.  Seward,"  "Thackeray,"  "The  Poetry  of 
Keats,"  "  The  Battle  of  Tours,"  "The  Armada,"  "An 
tagonism  Essential  to  Success,"  "The  Mudsills  of 
Society,"  "Daniel  Webster,"  "The  Statesmanship  of 
Revolutions,"  "Richelieu,"  "The  Defeat  at  Kolin," 
"  The  Arabic  Learning  in  Spain,"  and  "  Milton's"  Free  • 
Commonwealth."  Five  of  the  Junior  Ex  speakers  did 
not  exhibit  at  Commencement,  and  a  like  number  of 
speakers  on  the  latter  occasion  had  nothing  to  say  at 
Junior  Ex:  nine  of  the  fourteen,  that  is  to  say,  appeared 
on  both  occasions.  What  some  of  the  titles  were  when 
full  thirty  speeches  were  allowed  may  from  these 
examples  be  imagined. 

The  conferring  of  degrees  immediately  succeeds  the 
delivery  of  the  valedictory.  The  Seniors  being  mar 
shalled  alphabetically  in  front  of  the  church,  file  in,  in 
squads  of  a  dozen,  through  the  center  aisle,  and  stand 
in  a  semi-circle  about  the  president's  desk,  while  he 
from  his  scat  addresses  them  about  as  follows:  "Pro 
auctoritate  mihi  commissa,  admitto  vos  ad  primum 
gradum  in  artibus  ;  pro  more  hujusce  academics.  Vo- 
bisque,  una  cum  his  instruments,  concede  'omnia  jura 
et  privilegia  qua;  ad  hunc  gradum  evectis  consedi 
soleant."  At  the  word  "  instrumcntis,"  the  president 
hands  to  the  nearest  man  a  roll  of  diplomas,  and  at  the 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  671 

conclusion  of  his  address  the  dozen  bow  to  him  and 
retire  through  the  south  aisle,  —  pouncing  upon  the 
bearer  of  the  precious  sheepskins  as  soon  as  the  outer 
door  has  been  passed,  and  eagerly  -seizing  each  man  his 
own  from  the  roll.  The  diploma  is  printed  from  a 
steel-plate,  upon  a  skin  measuring  about  20  by  14 
inches,  and  bears  the  following  words:  "Prases  et 
Socii  Collegii  Yalensis,  in  Novo  Portu,  Connecticuten- 
sium,  Omnibus  has  litteras  perlecturis,  S.  P.  D.  Vobis 
illud  notum  sit  [Name,  Latinized  if  possible,  in  accusa 
tive  case],  qui  candidates  ad  Primum  honoris  academici 
Gradum  pervenire  cuperet,  a  nobis  titulo  graduque 
Artium  Liberalium  Baccalaurei  adornatum  esse  atque 
condecoratum,  eique  fruenda  omnia  data  esse  jura, 
honores,  insignia,  qure  apud  nos  ad  Gradum  Bacca- 
laurealem  evcctis  concedi  soleant.  In  cujus  rei  testi- 
monium  et  Prasidis  et  Scriboe  Academici  manum  et 
Collegii  signum  his  litteris  apponenda  curavimus  hoc 
die  [vicesimo  secundo]  Julii  Anno  Domini  [MDCCC- 
LXIX]."  The  signatures  of  president  and  secretary 
are  Latinized,  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  seal  is  engraved 
as  a  part  of  the  plate.  The  opening  words  ending  with 
"  S.P.D.,"  are  expressed  in  large  ornamental  letters,  the 
remainder  in  common  script.  Cylindrical  cases  of  tin 
are  generally  procured  by  those  who  wish  to  preserve 
their  sheepskins.  The  form  of  words  used  by  the 
president  in  presenting  the  degrees  may  vary  a  little 
from  year  to  year,  though  it  is  practically  about  the  same 
as  that  employed  on  such  occasions  almost  from  the 
foundation  of  the  college.  Formerly,  however,  u  pro 
more  academiarum  in  Anglia "  used  to  be  spoken 
instead  of  "pro  more  hujusce  academics,"  and  "Vobis- 
que  trado  hunc  librum,  una  cum  potestate  publice 
prselegendi,  quotiescumque  ad  isthoc  munus  evocati 
fueritis  ;  cujus,  hxc  instrumenta,  mcmbrana  scripta, 


672  FOUR   YEARS  AT   YALE. 

testimonio  sint,"  was  the  wording  of  the  second  clause. 
"  Primum  gradum,"  too,  sometimes  gives  place  to 
"  gradum  baccalaurealem."  The  form  used  in  conferring 
the  master's  degree  was  the  same  as  the  other,  except 
that  "secundum  gradum"  or  "gradum  magistralem " 
took  the  place  of  "  primum,"  and  "  profitendi "  of 
"praelegendi." 

After  the  last  degree  has  been  conferred  and  the 
assembly  dismissed,  the  company  of  college  officers, 
graduates  and  invited  guests  (including  in  the  latter  term 
all  college-bred  men  who  may  choose  to  attend),  gradu 
ally  wend  their  way,  separately  or  in  groups,  to  the 
vicinity  of  Alumni  Hall.  Here  a  large  tent  is  pitched, 
as  a  protection  against  sun  and  rain  ;  and  after  chatting 
for  a  while  beneath  it  the  multitude  is  summoned  to  din 
ner  within  the  hall.  First  go  the  college  and  other  dig 
nitaries,  to  take  their  places  at  the  elevated  "  table  of 
honor"  ;  then  follow  the  alumni,  class  by  class,  in  the 
order  of  graduation,  ending  with  the  late  Seniors  and 
Scientifics  who  have  just  received  their  sheepskins,  and 
the  generally-invited  graduates  of  other  colleges.  When 
at  last  the  whole  five  hundred  or  more  are  seated  in 
order  around  the  festive  board,  grace  is  said,  and  the 
practice  with  knife  and  fork  at  once  begins, — presenting 
a  scene  the  like  of  which  is  seldom  beheld  now-a-days 
outside  the  university  dining  halls  of  England.  Hav 
ing  appeased  the  cravings  of  appetite,  the  company  join 
in  a  song  or  two  from  the  printed  sheets  freely  distrib 
uted  among  them,  and  the  "  symposiarch,"  or  person 
chosen  the  day  before  to  act  as  president  of  the  alumni, 
after  making  a  congratulatory  speech  of  introduction, 
proposes  a  set  of  toasts,  and  calls  upon  various  individ 
uals  for  responses.  The  good  speeches  are  loudly  ap 
plauded,  and  cheers  for  various  "  sentiments"  are  pro 
posed  by  the  younger  alumni,  and  given  with  a  will. 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  673 

No  potables  are  supplied  save  water,  lemonade,  and 
coffee  ;  but  in  1869  an  innovation  was  made  by  the 
smoking  of  cigars  during  the  after-dinner  speeches, — a 
procedure  which  drew  out  several  letters  of  complaint 
in  the  newspapers.  At  about  six  o'clock,  a  parting  song 
is  sung,  and  with  a  benediction  the  gathering  is  dis 
missed.  In  the  evening,  the  president  holds  a  sort  of 
informal  "  levee "  or  "  reception "  at  his  residence,  to 
which  all  are  invited,  but  the  Seniors  do  not  largely 
attend  it,  for  a  good  share  of  them,  as  well  as  many  of 
the  alumni,  are  engaged  in  the  senior-society  anniversary 
meetings,  and  others  are  busy  "  packing  up"  for  depart 
ure,  or  holding  farewell  celebrations  in  private.  On 
Commencement  night  the  college  yard  seems  desolate 
and  forlorn  :  its  quiet  appears  all  the  lonelier  from  the 
bustle  and  commotion  of  the  day,  and  the  few  flickering 
lights  seen  in  the  college  windows,  and  the  solitary  foot 
steps  heard  through  the  darkness,  wandering  listlessly 
about,  or  hurrying  off  to  catch  the  boat  or  the  midnight 
trains,  only  add  to  the  general  gloom.  Early  the  next 
morning  many  start  for  the  University  race  at  Worces 
ter,  others  in  the  course  of  the  day  drift  off  homeward 
on  the  various  trains.  There  is  no  general  leave-taking 
at  Commencement  time,  for  the  class  said  their  formal 
adieu  to  one  another,  and  to  college  life,  on  Presenta 
tion  Day,  and  they  do  not  repeat  the  ceremony. 

The  sort  of  Commencement  here  described  was  intro 
duced  in  1868.  Up  to  that  time  there  had  been  two 
sessions  in  the  church,  and  the  dinner  came  between 
them.  The  procession  of  the  morning  was  repeated  at 
the  beginning  of  the  afternoon's  exercises,  and  the 
degrees  were  conferred  at  the  close  of  the  same.  The 
number  of  speakers  was  about  twice  as  great  as  now. 
Thirty  years  ago,  it  was  a  common  thing  for  colloquy-men 
to  write  dialogues  or  plays,  and  act  them  out  on  the 

3° 


674  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

stage  at  Commencement  or  Junior  Ex.  Poems  were 
also  quite  frequent,  and  might  be  given  by  any  speaker 
except  the  holders  of  the  two  highest  places, — a  rule 
which  is  still  in  vogue,  and  which  was  taken  advantage 
of  as  late  as  the  Junior  Exhibition  of  '68.  Fifty  years 
ago,  moreover,  the  Seniors  were  wont  to  hold  a  "Com 
mencement  Ball,"  on  the  night  before  they  graduated, 
and  to  send  out  steel-engraved,  gilt-edged  invitation 
notes  to  that  magnificent  entertainment.  They  used  to 
pay,  likewise,  for  the  Commencement  music,  and  the 
president  used  to  be  allowed  as  a  sort  of  perquisite  a 
fee  of  $5  or  thereabouts  for  every  sheepskin  signed  by 
him.  Now,  an  extra  charge  of  $12  for  "  graduating  ex 
penses,"  is  placed  upon  the  last  term-bill  of  every  Sen 
ior, — the  payment  of  which  is  the  only  part  taken  by 
him  in  the  management  of  the  show.  The  payment  of 
$5  for  every  graduate  of  three  years'  or  longer  standing, 
secures  for  him  the  second  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 

"  Although  a  very  early  act  of  the  original  trustees 
contemplates  granting  a  diploma  of  Bachelor  after  three 
years'  residence  to  students  of  distinguished  industry 
and  ability,  and  of  Master  after  two  years  more  upon 
the  same  terms,  the  plan  does  not  seem  to  have  ever 
been  carried  into  effect.  Commencements  were  not  to 
be  public,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  first  trustees, 
through  fear  of  the  attendant  expense  ;  but  another 
practice  soon  prevailed  and  continued  with  few  excep 
tions  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1775.  They 
were  then  private  for  five  years  on  account  of  the  times. 
The  early  exercises  of  the  candidates  for  the  first  degree 
were  a  '  saluting'  oration  in  Latin,  succeeded  by  syllo 
gistic  disputations  in  the  same  language  ;  and  the  day 
was  closed  by  the  masters'  exercises, — disputations  and 
a  valedictory.  According  to  an  ancient  academical 
practice,  theses  were  printed  and  distributed  upon  this 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  675 

occasion,  indicating  what  the  candidates  for  a  degree  had 
studied  and  were  prepared  to  defend ;  yet,  contrary  to 
the  usage  still  prevailing  at  universities  which  have 
adhered  to  the  old  method  of  testing  proficiency,  it  does 
not  appear  that  these  theses  were  ever  defended  in  pub 
lic.  They  related  to  a  variety  of  subjects  in  Technol 
ogy,  Logic,  Grammar,  Rhetoric,  Mathematics,  Physics, 
Metaphysics,  Ethics,  and  afterwards  Theology.  The 
candidates  for  a  master's  degree  also  published  theses 
at  this  time  which  were  called  '  questiones  magistrales.' 
The  syllogistic  disputes  were  held  between  an  affirmant 
and  a  respondent,  who  stood  in  the  side  galleries  of  the 
church  o'pposite  to  one  another,  and  shot  the  weapons 
of  their  logic  over  the  heads  of  the  audience.  The 
saluting  bachelor  and  the  master  who  delivered  the  val 
edictory  stood  in  the  front  gallery,  and  the  audience  hud 
dled  around  below  them  to  catch  their  Latin  eloquence 
as  it  fell.  It  seems  also  to  have  been  usual  for  the  pres 
ident  to  pronounce  an  oration  in  some  foreign  tongue 
upon  the  same  occasion.  The  earliest  theses  extant 
belong  to  17 14,  and  the  last  were  printed  in  1797.  From 
1787  onwards  there  were  no  masters'  valedictories,  nor 
syllogistic  disputes  in  Latin,  and  from  1793  there  were 
no  masters'  exercises  at  all.  The  present  bachelor's 
valedictory  in  English  was  introduced  in  1798,  —  the 
idea  of  it  having  been  derived  from  the  farewell  oration 
of  Presentation  Day.  A  stage  for  the  speakers  was  first 
erected  about  the  year  1770. 

"At  the  first  public  Commencement  under  President 
Stiles,  in  1781,  we  find  from  a  particular  description 
which  has  been  handed  down,  that  the  original  plan,  as 
just  described,  was  subjected  for  the  time  to  consider 
able  modifications :  The  salutatory  oration  was  delivered 
by  a  member  of  the  graduating  class,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  syllogistic  disputations,  and  these  by  a  Greek 


676  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

oration,  next  to  which  came  an  English  colloquy.  Then 
followed  a  forensic  disputation  in  which  James  Kent  was 
one  of  the  speakers.  Then  the  president  delivered  an 
oration  in  Hebrew,  Chaldaic  and  Arabic, — it  being  an 
extraordinary  occasion, — after  which  the  morning  was 
closed  with  an  English  oration  by  one  of  the  graduating 
class.  In  the  afternoon  the  candidates  for  the  second 
degree  had  the  time,  as  usual,  to  themselves,  after  a 
Latin  discourse  had  been  offered  by  the  president.  The 
exhibitors  appeared  in  syllogistic  disputes,  a  disserta 
tion,  a  poem,  and  an  English  oration.  Among  these 
performers  we  find  the  names  of  Joel  Barlow,  Noah 
Webster  and  Oliver  Wolcott. 

"  Commencements  were  for  a  long  time  occasions  of 
noisy  mirth  and  even  of  riot.  The  older  records  are 
full  of  attempts,  on  the  part  of  the  corporation,  to  put  a 
stop  to  disorder  and  extravagance  at  this  anniversary. 
From  a  document  of  1731  it  appears  that  cannons  had 
been  fired  in  honor  of  the  day,  and  students  were  now 
forbidden  to  have  a  share  in  this  on  pain  of  degradation. 
The  same  prohibition  was  found  necessary  again  in 
1755,  at  which  time  the  practice  had  grown  up  of  illu 
minating  the  college  buildings  on  Commencement  eve. 
But  the  habit  of  drinking  spirituous  liquors  and  of  fur 
nishing  it  to  friends  on  this  occasion  grew  up  into  more 
serious  evils.  In  the  year  1737,  having  found  that  there 
was  a  great  expense  in  spirituous  liquors  upon  Com 
mencement  occasions,  the  trustees  ordered  that  for  the 
future  no  candidate  for  a  degree  or  other  student  should 
provide  or  allow  any  such  liquors  to  be  drunk  in  his 
chambers  during  Commencement  week.  And  again  it 
was  ordered  in  1746,  with  the  view  of  preventing  several 
extravagant  and  expensive  customs,  that  there  should  be 
'no  kind  of  public  treat  but  on  Commencement,  Quar- 
terdays,  and  the  day  [Presentation]  on  which  the  vale- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  677 

dictory  oration  is  pronounced ;  and  on  those  days  the 
Seniors  may  provide  and  give  away  a  barrel  of  metheglin 
and  nothing  more.'  But  the  evil  continued  a  longtime. 
In  1760  it  appears  that  it  was  usual  for  the  graduating 
class  to  provide  a  pipe  of  wine,  in  the  payment  of  which 
each  one  was  forced  to  join.  The  corporation  now  at 
tempted  by  a  very  stringent  law  to  break  up  this  prac 
tice  ;  but  the  senior  class  having  united  in  bringing  large 
quantities  of  rum  into  college,  the  Commencement  exer 
cises  were  suspended,  and  degrees  were  withheld  until 
after  a  public  confession  of  the  class.  In  the  next  two 
years  degrees  were  given  at  the  July  examination  with  a 
view  to  prevent  such  disorders,  and  no  public  Com 
mencement  was  celebrated.  Similar  scenes  are  not 
known  to  have  occurred  afterwards,  although  for  a  long 
time  that  anniversary  wore  as  much  the  aspect  of  a 
training  day,  as  of  a  literary  festival." 

According  to  an  arrangement  adopted  the  present 
year,  Commencement  occurs  on  the  last  Thursday  but 
two  in  July.  It  used  to  occur,  from  1867  onwards,  on 
the  last  Thursday  but  one;  from  1851  onwards,  on  the 
last  Thursday;  from  1840  onwards,  on  the  last  Thursday 
but  two  in  August ;  from  1830  onwards,  on  the  last 
Thursday  but  one  in  that  month  ;  and  previous  to  1830, 
from  the  very  foundation  of  the  college,  at  about  the 
middle  of  September.  "  The  first  term  begins  nine  weeks 
from  the  day  before  Commencement,  and  continues  four 
teen  weeks;  the  second  begins  on  the  first  Wednesday 
in  January,  and  continues  fourteen  weeks  ;  the  third, 
of  eleven  weeks,  begins  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  April 
and  continues  till  Commencement.  The  intervening 
periods  of  nine,  two,  and  two  (or,  as  the  case  may  be, 
three)  weeks,  are  assigned  for  vacations."  So  says  the 
catalogue,  though  in  reality  the  terms  all  begin  on  Thurs 
day,  and  the  long  vacation  begins  at  the  close  of  the 


678  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

Annuals,  a  week  before  Commencement.  Up  to  1859 
the  terms  did  begin  on  Wednesday,  that  is,  chapel 
prayers  were  commenced  that  evening,  but  since  the 
abolition  of  evening  chapel,  the  prayer  bell  of  Thursday 
morning  has  been  the  first  summons  to  a  term's  duty. 
The  only  persons  deceived  by  the  theoretical  "  opening  " 
of  Wednesday  night  are  the  Freshmen,  many  of  whom, 
for  the  first  term  or  two,  come  to  town  some  twenty-four 
hours  earlier  than  there  is  any  necessity  for.  During 
the  last  century  almost  every  one  took  his  second  or 
master's  degree,  and  many  spent  the  interval  in  New 
Haven,  pursuing  some  study  —  usually  Theology  —  in 
private,  under  the  direction  of  the  professors.  Young 
graduates  had  the  title  of  "  Sir  "  prefixed  to  their  names 
upon  the  printed  programmes,  and  were  called  junior, 
middle,  and  senior  bachelors,  respectively,  during  the 
first,  second,  and  third  years  after  taking  their  first  de 
grees.  Fifty  years  ago,  the  number  of  those  who  became 
"  masters  "  was  reduced  to  about  half  the  class,  and  of 
late  years  only  about  a  third  or  a  fourth  of  those  who 
graduate  ever  take  the  trouble  to  obtain  a  second  sheep 
skin. 

The  gradual  withdrawal  of  the  "  masters"  from  the 
Commencement  stage  of  Thursday,  was  perhaps  partly 
a  cause  and  partly  a  consequence  of  the  establishment 
of  Wednesday  as  a  special  anniversary  season  for  the 
alumni.  At  first,  the  public  exercises  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
formed  the  chief  part  of  the  celebration,  but  after  a 
while  the  graduates,  without  regard  to  their  connection 
with  that  society,  got  into  a  habit  of  assembling  to  talk 
over  old  times  and  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  college,  and 
in  1827  the  "Society  of  the  Alumni"  was  formed,  with 
the  avowed  object  of  u  sustaining  and  advancing  the 
interests  of  the  college."  Every  alumnus  who  paid  $2 
a  year  could  belong  to  it,  and  for  $15  he  could  belong 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  679 

to  it  for  ten  years,  or  for  $25  he  could  belong  to  it  for 
life  ;  and  any  person,  whether  an  alumnus  or  not,  by  the 
payment  of  $50  could  be  a  "  director"  for  life,  and  by 
the  payment  of  $250  could  be  an  "honorary  vice-presi 
dent"  for  life.  The  funds  collected  in  this  way  from 
fees  and  contributions  amounted,  in  the  course  of  ten 
or  a  dozen  years,  to  nearly  $5000,  and  the  greater  part 
of  this  sum  was  set  aside  to  accumulate  until  it  became 
large  enough  to  support  a  "  Professorship  of  the  Alumni"; 
but  as  no  such  professorship  exists  the  money  was  prob 
ably  given  to  the  college  in  some  other  form.  The  ad 
mission  fees  and  other  restrictions  were  after  a  while 
abolished,  and  the  "  society"  is  now  simply  "  an  informal 
union  of  those  who  have  been  connected  with  the  vari 
ous  departments  of  the  college,  as  students,  officers  and 
benefactors.  The  association  meets  on  the  day  before 
Commencement,  when  two  or  three  hours  are  spent  in 
listening  to  off-hand  addresses,  the  obituary  record  is 
presented,  and  usually  an  oration  is  delivered  by  one  of 
the  graduates  appointed  to  that  service.  The  presiding 
officer,  the  honorary  secretary,  and  the  executive  com 
mittee  are  chosen  annually  at  this  meeting.  There  is 
also  a  permanent  secretary  who  holds  his  office  from 
year  to  year.  The  orator  is  selected  by  the  executive 
committee."  Alumni  Hall  is  of  course  the  place  of 
meeting,  though  before  that  was  built  the  Chapel  did 
duty  instead,  and  the  Commencement  processions  were 
also  formed  in  front  of  it.  In  those  days,  too,  the  Com 
mencement  dinners  had  to  be  eaten  beneath  a  canopy  of 
tent  cloth.  The  assembly  comes  together  about  half- 
past  nine  in  the  morning,  or  after  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
men  have  finished  with  their  annual  business  meeting, 
and  at  a  little  before  noon  marches  in  procession  to  one 
of  the  churches  to  listen  to  the  address  of  its  chosen 
orator.  The  oration  generally  treats  of  some  subject 


680  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

connected  more  or  less  directly  with  the  college  and  its 
alumni,  and  is  very  often  issued  in  pamphlet  form.  The 
orators  as  well  as  presidents  are  selected  from  among 
the  most  eminent  graduates  who  are  available,  and  either 
position  is  thought  a  very  honorable  one.  The  execu 
tive  committee  is  made  up  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen  gradu 
ates  who  reside  in  New  Haven,  and  a  majority  of  whom 
are  members  of  the  different  faculties  of  the  institution. 
On  Wednesday  night,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  oration  and  poem  are  delivered.  On  Tues 
day  evening,  the  "  Concio  ad  Clerum"  is  given,  consist 
ing  of  a  doctrinal  sermon  in  othodox  theology,  delivered 
in  one  of  the  churches  by  a  Congregational  clergyman 
to  a  very  slim  audience,  mostly  made  up  of  his  fellow 
laborers.  This  was  formerly  quite  an  important  feature 
of  the  week,  in  the  days  when  the  college  was  looked 
upon  chiefly  as  a  training  place  for  ministers  \  but  the 
constantly  declining  interest  in  it  seems  to  indicate  its 
early  abandonment. 

At  the  alumni  meeting,  the  various  publications  of  the 
college  are  distributed  among  the  graduates.  The 
annual  Obituary  Record  was  first  printed  in  1860,  the 
record  of  that  year  being  the  iQth  of  the  series,  which 
was  commenced  by  Prof.  Kingsley,  who  presented  the 
first  number  thereof  at  the  alumni  meeting  of  1842.  Of  the 
eleven  printed  numbers,  the  first  comprised  16  and  the 
last  34  pages,  and  all  combined — for  the  pagination  re 
mained  unbroken  from  the  outset — 368  pages.  A  sup 
plementary  record,  "  of  graduates  deceased  since  July, 
1859,  but  hitherto  unnoticed,"  together  with  a  title-page 
and  index  to  all  the  names  mentioned  in  the  eleven  reg 
ular  numbers  of  the  Record,  was  issued,  last  summer, 
in  connection  with  No.  u,  and  a  complete  volume  of 
392  pages  was  thus  made  of  the  "  Yale  Obituary 
Record  from  1859  to  1870."  "The  average  age  at 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  1 

death  of  the  711  academical  graduates  recorded  in  the 
volume  is  56)2  years,  and  leaving  out  the  75  who  died 
in  the  war,  at  an  average  age  of  31/4  years,  the  average 
age  at  death  of  the  remaining  636  has  been  59^  years." 
The  Record  for  1871 — No.  12  of  the  printed  series — 
will  form  the  first  part  of  the  new,  second  volume,  which 
will  probably  be  completed  in  a  less  number  of  years 
than  was  devoted  to  the  first.  Short  sketches  of  the 
deceased  of  each  year — giving  the  time  and  place  of 
their  birth  and  death  ;  the  date  of  their  marriage,  and 
the  names  of  their  wives,  if  married  ;  the  prominent 
events  of  their  lives,  and  so  on — take  up  the  body  of 
the  record.  The  names  of  the  regular  college  graduates 
come  first,  in  the  order  of  their  classes,  alphabetically 
under  each  class  ;  followed  by  those  of  each  professional 
school,  arranged  in  the  same  way.  Then  there  are  vari 
ous  summaries  of  facts  and  statistics,  and  finally  an 
alphabetical  index  of  all  the  names.  The  librarian  of 
the  college  has  the  preparation  of  the  record,  and  any 
thing  intended  for  it  should  be  forwarded  to  him.  An 
other  pamphlet,  issued  for  the  benefit  of  the  graduates, 
and  favorably  received  by  them,  is  the  "  General  State 
ment  respecting  the  late  progress  and  present  condition 
of  the  various  departments  of  the  university."  This  is 
prepared  by  the  executive  committee  of  the  Society  of 
the  Alumni,  and  details  with  great  exactness  the  situa 
tion  and  prospects  of  the  institution  as  a  whole  and  of 
all  its  separate  parts.  It  was  first  issued  in  1868,  and 
its  general  acceptance  probably  ensures  its  continuance 
hereafter.  The  first  number  contained  40,  the  second 
28,  and  the  third  30  pages.  Like  the  Obituary  Record, 
the  Statement  is  a  plainly  printed  octavo  pamphlet, 
stitched  and  cut,  but  not  supplied  with  covers.  The 
pagination,  however,  is  not  continuous.  The  annual 
Scientific  School  Reports,  which  began  in  1866,  have 

30* 


682  FOUR    V&ARS  AT  YALE. 

already  been  noted,  and  it  only  remains  to  describe  the 
official  catalogues  of  the  college, — annual  and  triennial. 
The  former  is  issued  the  second  week  in  November, 
or  about  two  months  after  the  opening  of  the  year.  It 
comprises  about  seventy-five  octavo  pages,  and  has  a 
light  yellowish  or  buff  colored  cover.  It  contains  lists 
of  the  "  corporation"  (in  which  the  order  is  :  president, 
governor  and  lieutenant  governor  of  the  State,  "  ten 
Congregational  clergymen,"  and  "  six  senior  State  sen 
ators," — the  two  latter  classes  in  the  order  of  their  sen 
iority  as  members  of  the  board)  ;  "  of  the  faculty  and 
instructors"  (arranged  in  the  order  of  graduation,  with 
their  rank  and  duties  indicated) ;  and  of  the  "students," 
in  Theology,  in  Law,  in  Medicine,  in  Philosophy  and  the 
Arts,  and  finally  in  the  main  college  itself  (arranged  in 
each  case  alphabetically  by  classes,  with  the  names  of 
its  own  particular  faculty  placed  at  the  head  of  each 
department).  In  the  "  general  statement"  which  follows, 
in  regard  to  the  terms  of  admission,  courses  of  study, 
etc.,  the  college,  or  "  academical  department,"  is  first 
treated  of,  and  the  others  follow  it  in  the  same  order  as 
before.  A  space  of  about  thirty-two  pages  is  required 
both  for  the  lists  of  names  and  for  the  general  state 
ment,  and  the  rest  of  the  book  is  taken  up  with  lists  of 
"honors"  ("appointments  for  Commencement  and  Jun 
ior  Ex,"  "  Scholars  of  the  House,"  and  "  miscellaneous 
premiums  of  the  year"),  the  calendar  for  the  year,  a  table 
of  abbreviations,  and  an  index.  The  issue  for  1869-70 
had  no  title  page,  and  the  one  for  1870-71  threw  off  the 
double-rule  border  which  had  been  in  use  for  thirty 
years  or  more.  The  catalogue  was  first  issued  in  pam 
phlet  form  as  late  as  1813,  and  even  three  years  later  than 
that  it  appeared  upon  a  single  sheet,  as  all  '13'$  prede 
cessors  had  done,  beginning  with  1796,  when  the  first 
annual  catalogue  was  put  forth.  For  many  years  before 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  683 

the  last  mentioned  date,  the  list  of  each  class  had  been 
annually  printed  upon  a  separate  sheet, — the  names, 
residences,  and  headings  being  usually  Latinized  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  the  circumstances  allowed.  The 
earliest  catalogue,  however,  was  the  Triennial  list  of 
graduates,  which  has  been  phrased  in  Latin  even  unto 
the  present  day.  It  was  first  issued  in  1724, — at  least, 
that  is  the  date  of  the  earliest  printed  copy  now  extant, 
— and  has  regularly  appeared  every  third  year  since 
then,  the  latest — 49th — issue  being  consequently  that  of 
1871.  This  is  an  octavo  of  about  200  pages,  with 
double-rule  borders,  and  paper  covers  of  brownish 
green  or  tea  color.  First  after  the  title  page  comes  the 
"  Senatus  Academicus,"  comprising  lists  of  the  presides, 
socii,  professores,  tutores,  bibliothecarii,  thesaurarii, 
secretarii,  and  clispensatores, — given  in  each  case  in  the 
order  of  their  accession  to  office,  the  year  of  which,  as 
well  as  the  year  of  exit  therefrom,  is  indicated.  The 
names  of  the  State  officials  who  are  members  of  the 
college  corporation  only  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  were 
last  included  among  the  other  "  socii"  or  fellows  in  the 
Triennial  of  1847.  The  second  division  of  the  book, 
which  forms  the  largest  and  most  important  part  of  it  is 
a  catalogue  of  academical  graduates,  or  "  baccalaurei  in 
artibus,"  in  the  order  of  their  classes  from  1702  to  1871, 
— there  being  one  name  in  the  former  class  and  some 
thing  over  one  hundred  names  in  the  latter.  Up  to 
1767,  the  names  of  each  class  stand  in  the  order  of 
their  family  "  gentility"  ;  from  '68  onward  they  are 
alphabetically  arranged.  A  numeral  at  the  foot  of  each 
class  indicates  the  number  belonging  to  it.  Next  fol 
low  similar  lists  of  the  graduates  of  the  Scientific  School 
("philosophise  baccalaurei"),  1852-71,  and  ("philosophise 
doctores")  1861-71  •  of  the  Medical  School  (medicinae 
doctores),  1814-71;  of  the  Law  School  (legum  baccalaurei), 


684  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

1843-71;  of  the  Theological  School  (sacrac  theologioe 
baccalaurei),  1867-71  ;  and  finally  of  the  "honorarii,  et 
ii  qui  qualemcunque  gradum,  alii  in  aliis  collegiis, 
assecuti,  apud  nos  ad  eundem  admissi  sunt."  Every 
name  in  the  book  is  spelled  in  full,  is  Latinized  as  far  as 
possible,  and  is  accompanied  by  all  the  honorary  degrees 
and  titles  belonging  to  it.  Names  of  academical  gradu 
ates  who  hold  other  Yale  degrees  are  not  repeated  in 
the  special  lists  of  possessors  of  the  latter,  except  in 
the  cases  of  Doctors  of  Philosophy  and  Bachelors  of 
Divinity,  the  numbers  of  which  exclusive  of  Yale  men 
are  as  yet  so  small  as  to  present  an  insignificant  appear 
ance  if  printed  by  themselves.  In  all  the  lists,  the 
names  of  "evangelical  clergymen" — there  are  2004  of 
these  out  of  8105  academical  graduates — are  printed  in 
italics,  and  death  is  indicated  by  a  star,  accompanied  by 
the  year  of  decease  when  known.  At  the  end  of  the 
book  comes  an  alphabetical  index  of  all  the  names  con 
tained  in  it, — the  surname  being  printed  in  large  type,  and 
the  given  name  or  names  of  the  one  or  more  individuals 
which  it  belongs  to  being  printed  in  smaller  type  beneath. 
The  reference  with  each  name  is  to  the  year  of  receiving 
the  degree,  not  to  the  page  in  the  book;  and  the  letters 
mt  /, /,  /,  and  //,  are  used  to  indicate  respectively  gradu 
ates  in  medicine,  law,  philosophy,  and  theology,  and 
holders  of  honorary  degrees,  who  are  not  also  academ 
ical  graduates.  In  the  index,  also,  the  names  of  clergy 
men  are  given  in  italics.  The  summary  of  this  year's 
catalogue,  whose  appearance  this  bock  anticipates  by 
about  a  month,  will  not  vary  much  from  the  following 
estimate  :  Whole  number  of  persons  upon  whom  Yale 
has  conferred  degrees  (1700  to  1871),  1040  ;  made  up  of 
8105  bachelors  of  arts,  717  doctors  of  medicine,  157 
bachelors  of  law,  221  bachelors  of  philosophy,  5  doctors 
of  philosophy,  5  bachelors  of  theology,  and  830  honor- 


THE  OFFICIAL  CURRICULUM.  685 

ary  doctors  and  bachelors  of  various  sorts.  Of  the 
academical  graduates,  3765  are  still  living,  and  4340  are 
dead. 

Within  a  few  years  past  a  new  sort  of  alumni  associa 
tion  has  been  developed  by  the  formation  of  local  Yale 
Clubs  among  the  graduates  residing  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  some  of  the  larger  cities.  The  first  was  organ 
ized  at  Cincinnati  in  November,  1864,  and  its  live  prin 
cipal  successors  in  their  order  are  the  clubs  of  Boston, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Philadelphia  and  New  York, — the 
latter,  though  formed  nearly  two  years  after  the  one  first 
mentioned,  —  being  naturally  the  largest  of  them  all. 
Once  every  winter  each  club  institutes  a  "banquet,"  in 
which  all  its  own  members,  members  of  the  faculty  and 
other  dignitaries  specially  invited,  and  as  many  other 
Yale  men  as  can  be  drawn  together  from  far  and  near, 
take  part.  In  the  after  dinner  speeches,  the  policy  of 
the  college  is  informally  discussed  by  the  older  heads  ; 
old  jokes  and  comic  reminiscences  are  tossed  about  by 
the  younger  ones  ;  and  of  course  there  is  an  abundance 
of  singing,  and  cheering,  and  enthusiasm.  The  celebra 
tion  stands  half-way  between  the  Commencement  dinner 
and  the  class  reunion, — not  being  quite  as  formal  as  the 
one,  nor  as  uproarious  as  the  other.  It  serves  both  to 
introduce  to  each  other  many  graduates  who  would 
otherwise  remain  strangers,  though  dwelling  in  close 
proximity,  and  also  as  a  medium  through  which  recom 
mendations  may  be  made  to  and  sentiments  exchanged 
with  the  college  authorities.  Besides  the  annual  ban 
quets,  several  business  and  social  meetings  are  held 
during  the  year.  The  officers  are  elected  annually. 


CONCLUDING   CHAPTER. 

A    MATTER    OF    OPINION. 

Cautiou  to  the  Reader — Two  Kinds  of  Preparation  for  College — 
The  Best  Fitting-Schools— The  Society  System— Its  General 
Fairness — A  Word  for  the  Reformers — The  Abuse  of  Freshmen 
—  A  Disgraceful  Puzzle  for  Moralists — Modern  Languages  and 
Optional  Studies— A  "  Practical "  Argument  for  Classical  Dis 
cipline — The  Last  American  Stronghold  of  the  Humanists — 
Procrusteanism  and  Common  Sense — The  Claims  of  the  Muscle 
Men — And  of  the  Supporters  of  all  Honorable  Customs — Who 
Best  Enjoy  College  Life  ?— -The  Real  Value  of  the  Training- 
Pecuniary  Needs  of  the  College — The  Rewards  of  Doing  Much 
from  Little — Unselfish  Devotion  of  the  College  Officers — A  Cry 
from  Macedonia. 

As  I  have  kept  my  personality  out  of  sight  in  the 
sixteen  preceding  chapters,  and  have  devoted  those 
chapters  almost  exclusively  to  a  narration  of  facts,  per 
haps  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I  now,;in  closing  the  book, 
present  a  few  ideas  of  my  own,  by  way  of  comment  and 
"  improvement"  on  what  has  gone  before,  that  is, on  the 
subject  of  college  life  at  Yale.  I  am  well  aware  that  the 
opinions  of  so  young  a  man,  on  some  of  the  topics 
which  I  touch  upon,  are  of  very  little  absolute  value  ;  a 
dozen  years  hence  I  myself  may  laugh  at  them  ;  but,  no 
matter  how  unwise  they  may  be,  as  an  illustration  of  the 
habits  of  thought  of  an  average  undergraduate  they  can 
hardly  be  altogether  uninstructive  or  uninteresting.  To 
be  sure,  I  claim  now  to  represent  no  one  but  myself,  yet 
it  is  not  improbable  that  some  others,  who  have  gone 
through  the  mill  with  me,  entertain  a  good  many  of  the 
same  ideas  which  I  here  venture  to  express.  Having 


A   MATTER   OF  OPINION.  687 

thus  warned  the  courteous  reader  to  be  on  his  guard,  I 
hope,  should  he  detect  any  heresies  in  my  discourse, 
that  he  will  not  accuse  me  of  attempting  to  lead  him 
astray. 

In  the  first  place,  the  "young  gentlemen  intending 
to  enter  college,"  as  well  as  their  doting  parents,  may 
thank  me  for  a  few  words  of  advice.  To  such  I  would 
say :  No  boy  should  enter  Yale  until  he  is  eighteen  years 
old,  and -if  he  be  nineteen  or  twenty  his  college  life  will 
doubtless  be  all  the  better  for  it.  He  should  get  his 
"  fit,"  too,  at  one  of  the  large  preparatory  schools ;  not 
at  some  obscure  little  academy,  or,  worst  of  all,  at  the 
hands  of  a  private  tutor.  When  a  boy  who  has  been 
thus  instructed  in  private,  who  has  never  moved  outside 
the  confines  of  his  native  village  unless  carefully 
watched  and  guarded,  who  has  been  petted  and  coddled 
by  admiring  friends  into  the  belief  that  he  is  a  superior 
scholar  and  a  rising  genius  everyway, — when  such  a  one, 
especially  if  he  be  only  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old, 
comes  up  to  Yale  as  a  Freshman,  his  condition  is  truly 
deplorable.  He  is  without  friends,  or  self-reliance,  or 
character,  to  back  him  up.  He  knows  nothing  of  the 
world,  and  has  never  tested  himself  by  its  pitiless 
standard.  In  his  studies,  he  finds  a  competition  which 
he  had  never  dreamed  of  before,  and  the  disappointment 
of  having  to  work  hard  to  keep  up  to  average,  instead  of 
standing  leisurely  at  the  head,  discourages  him.  Then, 
too,  his  more  experienced  classmates  look  down  on  him 
with  a  sort  of  contemptuous  pity,  saying  by  their  ac 
tions,  "  He's  a  mere  baby,  you  know — too  young  to 
come  to  college  " ;  and  so  he  enters  upon  a  course  of 
"bumming,"  as  a  sort  of  proof  of  his  worldly  wisdom 
and  hardihood ;  but  his  attempts  at  being  "  fast "  are 
so  forced  and  unnatural  as  to  make  his  "greenness" 
more  noticeable  than  ever,  and  to  more  than  ever  sub- 


688  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

ject  him  to  derision,  even  from  those  who  encourage 
him  in  his  evil  ways.  It  is  rarely  that  such  persons  ever 
take  much  position  in  the  class,  and  oftentimes  they  go 
to  the  bad  and  leave  college  before  the  course  is  half 
completed. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  boys  who  have  graduated  at 
the  great  preparatory  schools,  have  been  knocked  about 
enough,  and  had  enough  of  rivalry  and  competition,  to 
give  them  a  reasonably  correct  idea  of  their  own  powers 
and  capacities.  They  understand  tolerably  well  the 
kind  of  life  which  college  has  in  store  for  them,  and 
have  gained  enough  independence  and  self-assurance  to 
be  able  to  take  it  philosophically  when  it  comes.  The 
"schools"  are,  in  fact,  of  a  rather  higher  grade  than 
many  of  the  Western  "colleges,"  and  the  sub-Freshmen 
who  leave  them  are  in  experience  and  attainments  fully 
the  equals  of  the  graduates  of  the  latter.  Of  course 
some  go  to  the  bad  while  at  the  preparatory  schools,  but 
such  would  be  even  more  certain  to  do  the  same  if  sent 
to  college  directly  from  home ;  and,  admitting  that  the 
evil  course  must  be  run,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  better 
for  all  parties  that  school  rather  than  college  should  be 
the  scene  of  the  disgrace.  In  short,  since  at  college  a 
boy  must  be  his  own  master,  I  think  he  is  more  likely 
to  behave  like  a  man  if  his  independence  has  been 
gained  by  gradual  approaches,  than  if  it  has  been  sud 
denly  thrust  upon  him  in  place  of  the  strictest  parental 
control. 

The  three  chief  preparatory  schools  of  the  country,  as 
I  take  it,  are  those  at  Exeter  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
Andover  and  Easthampton  in  Massachusetts,  ranking  in 
the  order  named.  Exeter,  I  suppose,  gives  a  more 
comprehensive  and  thorough  drill  than  either  of  the 
other  places,  but,  practically,  it  fits  only  for  Harvard, 
since  a  boy  known  to  be  preparing  for  Yale  or  any 


A   MATTER   OF  OPINION.  689 

other  college  is  subject  to  many  disadvantages,  and  is 
socially  regarded  as  little  better  than  an  outcast.  So 
for  as  studies  are  concerned,  "  the  best  fit "  for  Yale 
is  undoubtedly  to  be  obtained  at  the  Hopkins  Grammar 
School  of  New  Haven,  since  it  is  practically  a  sort  of 
preparatory  department  of  the  college  ;  but,  except  he 
be  one  who  looks  upon  "  stand  "  as  the  only  thing  worth 
going  to  college  for,  it  is  not  a  school  which  I  should 
advise  a  prospective  Yale  man  to  attend.  Previous 
residence  in  New  Haven  exerts  a  sort  of  demoralizing 
tendency  on  those  proposing  to  enter  college  there  ; 
for  a  certain  familiarity  with  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  institution  takes  away  from  the  novelty  and 
attractiveness  of  actual  experience,  and  college  life  when 
it  comes  is  never  entered  into  so  heartily  or  enjoyed 
with  so  keen  a  zest.  Other  things  being  equal,  then, 
the  boy  who  passes  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his 
preparatory  course  at  Andover  or  Easthampton,  will,  in 
my  opinion,  stand  the  best  chance  of  having  a  success 
ful  career  at  Yale.  No  mistake  can  be  worse  than  that 
of  entering  a  class  "with  advanced  standing,"  that  is, 
joining  it  after  the  first  freshman  term.  Whether  an 
"  advanced  student"  comes  from  a  private  tutor,  or  from 
another  college,  or  drops  from  a  higher  class  at  Yale, 
makes  tittle  difference  ;  he  never  gets  fully  in  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  new  class  which  he  joins.  Unless  a  man 
spends  the  whole  four  years  in  connection  with  a  single 
class,  it  seems  to  me  that  he  can  never  really  experience 
the  full  glory  of  student  life  at  Yale. 

As  for  the  society  system,  I  think  it,  on  the  whole,  a 
good  one.  Its  disadvantages  are  mostly  those  which 
are  incidental  to  any  mode  of  conferring  honors ;  and 
that  the  award  of  prizes  of  any  sort  must  always  be 
attended  with  a  certain  amount  of  injustice  and  ill- 
feeling,  the  most  enthusiastic  defender  of  prize-giving 


690  FOUR    YEARS  AT   YALE. 

will  hardly  venture  to  deny.  Unless,  however,  the 
whole  idea  of  encouraging  rivalry  and  competition,  by 
the  holding  out  of  honors  as  a  reward  for  excellence,  be 
wrong,  the  society  system  cannot  be  condemned,  for  it 
offers  higher  inducements  and  leads  to  a  keener  strife 
for  success  than  all  the  other  prizes  and  honors  of  col 
lege  combined.  Indeed,  without  it,  these  honors  and 
prizes  would  lose  a  good  share  of  their  value,  since  their 
chief  attractiveness  consists  in  their  supposed  efficacy 
in  securing  society  elections  for  their  winners.  I  do 
not  believe  in  judging  men  by  arbitrary  standards  of  any 
sort,  for  I  know  that  in  every  station  in  life  fools  maybe 
honored  while  wise  men  are  left  unnoticed,  but  as  such 
judgments  must  often  be  made,  I  would  accept  a  college 
man's  society  record  as  a  better  indication  of  his  char 
acter  than  any  other  single  test,  save  personal  acquaint 
ance  itself.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  the  students 
are  better  judges  of  the  abilities  and  deserts  of  one 
another  than  the  faculty  are,  and  I  place  greater  con 
fidence  in  their  opinion.  Of  course,  societies  often  do 
injustice,  both  by  taking  in  quite  a  number  of  worthless 
men  and  leaving  out  some  worthy  ones,  yet  the  esteem 
in  which  their  decisions  are  held  affords  pretty  conclu 
sive  proof  as  to  their  general  fairness.  A  sensible  man 
will  regard  the  winning  of  a  society  election,  as*  of  any 
other  honor,  simply  as  a  pleasant  incident  of  college 
life,  not  as  the  one  thing  worth  living  for ;  and  if  he 
fails  of  gaining  admittance  to  the  society  of  his  choice, 
he  will  accept  his  fate  philosophically,  not  thinking  any 
worse  of  himself  for  the  mischance,  nor  feeling  jealous 
of  his  more  fortunate  friends.  Neutrals  sometimes 
profess  to  believe  that,  because  they  are  such,  they  are 
"  looked  down  upon  "  by  the  society  men,  but  in  nine 
out  of  ten  such  cases  it  would  probably  be  found,  were 
the  truth  known,  that  they  are  looked  down  upon  not 


A   MATTER   OF  OPINION.  691 

because  they  are  neutrals  but  because  they  are — them 
selves.  Personal  character  is,  after  all,  the  thing  by 
which  a  man  stands  or  falls  in  college  ;  and,  though  the 
verdict  which  a  society  passes  upon  his  case  is  accounted 
of  more  importance  than  any  of  the  faculty's,  it,  like 
every  other  arbitrary  judgment,  is  never  regarded  as 
final. 

As  for  the  hidden^  immoralities  and  enormities,  which 
the  "  reformers  "  take  pleasure  in  believing  to  be  the  only 
explanation  of  secrecy  and  mysticism,  the  unreformed  part 
of  the  world  are  callous  enough  to  judge  that  men  of 
correct  and  blameless  lives  on  all  other  occasions  do 
not  change  into  monsters  of  vice  and  iniquity  when  they 
enter  a  secret  society  hall.  Quite  aside  from  this  con 
sideration,  however,  the  secrecy  and  mysticism  of  the 
Yale  societies  are  too  nominal  and  transparent  to  offer 
many  chances  for  deception.  Neither  do  these  societies 
foster  a  regard  for  their  counterparts  in  the  outer  world  : 
on  the  other  hand,  they  have  exactly  the  reverse  effect. 
There  are  of  course  no  accessible  statistics  upon  this 
point,  but  I  venture  to  assert  that  the  number  of  Yale 
society-men  who  ever  have  to  do  with  Masonry  or  other 
similar  organizations  of  the  outer  world  is  surprisingly 
small.  The  general  undergraduate  idea  seems  to  be 
that  while  such  societies  and  many  other  exceptional 
things  are  right  enough  for  a  college,  they  should  be 
thrown  off  when  a  man  gives  up  play  and  enters  upon 
the  active  business  of  life.  I  myself  am  no  special 
admirer  of  the  Yale  society  system,  and  I  do  not  pretend 
to  be  its  champion.  I  call  it  a  good  one  because  I  think 
its  advantages  outweigh  its  defects,  and  I  do  not  believe 
a  better  is  at  present  attainable.  It  is  certainly  not 
attainable  by  force,  and,  if  it  ever  comes  at  all,  it  must, 
like  the  present  one,  be  allowed  to  grow  in  its  own  way, 
at  its  own  time  and  season.  This  idea  is  of  course,  not 


f6r,2  poUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

a  very  palatable  one  to  that  large  body  of  "reformers" 
who  believe  that  a  legislative  enactment  can  make  men 
moral,  and  that  a  fiat  of  the  faculty  has  equally  mirac 
ulous  powers.  They  would  "abolish"  the  present 
deeply-rooted  system,  without  even  pretending  to  offer 
anything  else  in  the  place  of  it.  The  faculty,  however, 
are  wiser  ;  and  knowing  that  any  interference  of  theirs 
could  only  aggravate  whatever  of  bad  there  is  in  the 
present  system,  they  adopt  the  one  sane  course  left  for 
them,  and  leave  well-enough  alone. 

Another  thing  for  which  there  is  a  good  deal  of  sense 
less  fault-finding  against  the  faculty,  is  their  inefficiency 
in  preventing  the  abuse  of  Freshmen.  They  do  what 
they  can,  but  from  the  nature  of  the  case  they  are  to  a 
large  extent  powerless,  since  a  Freshman  will  report  his 
wrongs  neither  to  them  nor  to  the  civil  authorities.  An 
honorable  college  sentiment  is  the  only  thing  which  can 
prevent  such  practices,  and  this,  alas  !  though  evidently 
growing  from  year  to  year,  is  still  to  be  effectively 
developed.  Not  that  college  approves  of  gross  bodily 
outrage  or  injury,  or  that  such  cases  are  common,  or 
that  those  are  not  in  a  minority  who  ever  trouble  the 
Freshmen  in  any  way ;  but  that  in  this  minority  are 
"prominent  men"  and  "good  fellows"  whose  perform 
ances  never  subject  them  to  any  social  penalty,  and  that 
all  the  lesser  impositions  practised  on  the  new-comers 
are  spoken  of  half-approvingly  or  slightingly,  or  with 
the  mildest  possible  deprecation,  even  by  those  who 
themselves  would  never  engage  in  them.  It  is  a  curious 
though  not  over-pleasant  thing  to  observe  the  graduaj 
change  in  a  Freshman's  ideas  as  to  the  morality  of  cer 
tain  "  college  customs."  At  the  end  of  his  first  term  he 
vows  that,  come  what  will,  Jus  class  can  never  be  quite 
so  mean  as  its  predecessor  has  shown  itself  to  be  ;  but 
when  the  year  has  rolled  around  once  more,  it  finds  that 


A   MATTER   OF  OPINION.  693^ 

the  same  old  story  has  been  again  acted  out.  To  a 
right-minded  man,  I  do  not  know  of  any  experience  that 
can  be  more  disheartening  than  that  of  his  first  sopho 
more  term  ;  for  he  then  finds  the  ones  in  whom  he  had 
learned  to  put  confidence,  as  the  possessors  of  gentle 
manly  instincts,  wildly  throwing  away  every  considera 
tion  of  decency,  and  applauding  or  engaging  in  such 
accursedly  mean  displays  of  greediness  and  brutality,  as 
almost  to  destroy  his  faith  in  human  nature,  and  disgust 
him  with  life  itself.  There  is  something  so  revolting  in 
this  idea  of  molesting  the  weak  and  inoffensive,  who 
have  committed  no  crime  save  that  of  minding  their 
own  business,  that  for  my  own  part  I  should  rejoice  to 
see  some  of  these  sophomore  barbarians  shot  down  dead 
in  their  tracks  by  the  Freshmen  whose  rooms  they  had 
invaded,  and  I  believe  the  lesson  would  be  a  salutary 
one.  The  real  outrage  lies  in  the  unwarrantable  assump 
tion  of  arbitrary  power,  not  in  the  particular  way  of 
exercising  it ;  and  the  insult  is  just  the  same  whether 
a  Freshman's  entire  body  be  severely  dealt  with,  or  a 
few  harmless  whiffs  of  tobacco  smoke  be  blown  up  his 
nose.  After  all  that  has  been  said,  however,  the  admis 
sion  must  be  made  that  those  who  ill-treat  the  Freshmen 
cannot  be  regarded  as  ordinary  bullies,  thieves  and  plun 
derers,  for  they  are  not  such.  They  are,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  decent,  honorable,  gentlemanly ;  thought 
ful  of  others,  respectful  of  themselves  ;  persons  whom 
their  average  classmates  cannot  regard  as  criminals,  nor 
hate  if  they  would.  I  confess  my  own  inability  to  explain 
this  contradiction,  but  after  the  somewhat  blood-thirsty 
wish  already  expressed,  I  can  hardly  be  accused  of  par 
tiality  towards  the  objects  of  it,  in  stating  the  facts  as 
they  are.  Perhaps  the  best  explanation  lies  in  consider 
ing  it  an  example  of  the  tremendous  power  of  college 
"  custom  "  in  inducing  a  temporary  insanity  which  makes 


694  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

weak  men  wicked  and  good-natured  ones  pitiless.  This 
is  at  all  events  the  most  charitable  as  well  as  plausible 
view  of  the  strange  and  disgraceful  anomaly.  I  am  not 
so  Utopian  in  my  views  as  to  think  the  time  will  soon 
come  when  the  Freshmen  of  an  American  college  will 
be  treated  courteously  and  kindly  by  upper-class  men, 
as  new-comers  are  now  treated  at  the  English  univer 
sities  ;  but  I  do  hope  that  before  many  years  the  Sopho 
mores  may  increase  enough  in  age  and  independence  to 
be  able  to  let  the  Freshmen  severely  alone,  and  to  form 
a  habit  of  considering  any  interference  with  them  as  a 
thing  beneath  their  own  dignity  and  self-respect.  Thus 
only  can  be  removed  a  practice  which  is  the  chief 
reproach  of  student  life  both  at  this  and  most  other 
colleges. 

In  regard  to  the  curriculum,  my  ideas  are  rather  old- 
fashioned  ones,  for  I  do  not  look  with  much  favor  upon 
the   recent   changes.      The    arrangement   of    divisions 
according  to   scholarship,   instead  of  according  to  the 
alphabet,  which  experience  seems  to  prove  advantageous 
to  the  poor  scholars  as  well  as  the  good  ones,  I  am  will 
ing,  on  that  supposition,  to  accept  as  an  improvement, 
spite  of  its   evident  tendency  to  lessen  the   unity  and 
public  spirit  of  the  class ;  but  the  introduction  of  a  few 
terms'  study  of  the  Modern  Languages,  in  place  of  the 
same   amount  of  work  in  the  Classics,  I  regard   as  an 
advance  backward.     If  a  man  wishes  to  learn  French 
or  German,  there  are  far  more   advantageous  ways  of 
doing  it ;  for  the  knowledge  which  his  college  course  is 
likely  to  give  him  of  those  languages  is  simply  a  smat 
tering  of  the  very   worst  sort.     What  possible   benefit 
there  is  to  be  gained  by  a  wild  rush  of  six  weeks  through 
all  the  mazes  of  a  difficult  French  or  German  grammar, 
that  can  compensate  for  the  bewilderment,  disgust,  and 
demoralization  in  which  the  average  student  finds, him- 


A   /MATTER   OF  OPINION.  695 

self  when  he  is  supposed  thus  to  have  "  mastered  "  it, 
I  myself  am  too  far  behind  "  the  spirit  of  the  age"  even 
to  imagine.  The  best  that  could  be  hoped  from  a  lim 
ited  study  of  these  subjects  was  that  the  student  would 
be  well  enough  grounded  in  them  to  desire  of  his  own 
accord  to  increase  his  knowledge  ;  but  its  practical 
effect,  to  judge  from  what  I  observed  of  it  in  my  own 
class,  is  oftener  to  leave  him  aground,  hopelessly  em 
bedded  for  all  future  time,  in  a  more  than  English  preju 
dice  against  all  "  foreign"  tongues  and  dialects. 

"Optional"  or  "elective"  studies,  too,  do  not  always 
realize  the  expectations  of  their  advocates,  for  the  aver 
age  student  in  making  his  choice  is  apt  to  select  that 
study  which  he  thinks  can  be  "got  through  with  the 
easiest,"  rather  than  the  one  for  which  he  has  the  great 
est  personal  liking.  Ease  and  inclination  often  coin 
cide,  to  be  sure,  but  not  always.  Sometimes  a  man 
who  is  an  indifferent  classical  scholar,  but  who  knows 
absolutely  nothing  about  mathematics,  may  take  the 
Calculus  for  his  optional,  because  in  it  he  can  skin  out 
his  daily  work,  and  flunk  his  examinations  without 
conditions.  So,  too,  between  Astronomy  and  Latin  : 
one  may  choose  the  former  because  he  can  skin  it, 
another  the  latter  because  hi  can  pony  it,  though  the 
tastes  of  each  would  lead  them  to  prefer  the  other  sub 
ject.  The  worst  effect  of  optional  studies,  however,  is 
their  tendency  to  destroy  class  unity, — a  tendency  which 
the  new  system  of  arranging  the  divisions,  as  just  re 
marked,  to  a  lesser  extent,  possesses, — and  as  class 
feeling  and  unity  is  the  most  characteristic  feature  of 
American  college  life,  and  manifests  itself  nowhere 
more  strongly  than  at  Yale,  I  should  look  upon  its 
weakening  or  breaking  up  as  little  better  than  disastrous. 

Though  too  much  work  is  crowded  into  senior  year, 
I  am  willing  to  let  the  programme  stand  as  it  is,  for  I 


696  FOUJl    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

suppose  it  is  well  that  young  men  professing  to  be  edu 
cated  should  be  obliged  to  acquire  at  least  a  few  general 
ideas  regarding  the  natural  sciences,  and  metaphysics, 
and  history,  and  politics,  and  law,  even  though  these 
few  general  ideas  be  the  product  of  persistent  skinning; 
but  in  the  first  three  years  I  would  have  no  studies  save 
the  classics  and  mathematics  (including  in  the  latter 
term  Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy).  Instead  of 
lessening  the  amount  of  classic  texts  to  be  read,  I  would 
have  it  so  increased,  that  the  students  would  be  obliged 
in  mere  self-defence  to  give  up  ponying  in  favor  of  what 
would  then  be  the  easier  practice  of  learning  their  les 
sons  honestly  ;  and  this,  I  think,  would  be  generally  ac 
cepted  as  a  "  reform"  quite  as  "  practical "  at  least  as 
any  which  has  lately  been  put  forward  in  the  other  di 
rection.  Admitting  that  the  "  discipline"  gained  by  two 
parallel  courses  of  study  to  be  equally  valuable  (and 
"  discipline"  is  always  the  chief  thing,  for  certainly  the 
absolute  knowledge  which  is  gained  on  any  subject,  no 
matter  how  "  practical,"  is  too  small  to  be  taken  into 
account),  there  is  this  to  be  said  in  favor  of  a  classical 
course,  that  it  can,  better  than  any  other,  be  choked 
down  a  man's  throat,  whether  he  wishes  to  receive  it  or 
not.  Spite  of  all  his  exertions  to  the  contrary,  spite  of 
all  his  ponyings  and  cheatings  of  every  sort,  he  must  in 
time,  by  dint  of  reciting  and  hearing  others  recite,  get  a 
good  share  of  classic  lore  forced  into  him,  and  receive 
the  benefits  of  mental  discipline.  On  the  other  hand, 
mathematics  and  other  exact  sciences  allied  thereto, 
can  not  be  pounded  into  a  man's  head  by  any  number 
of  repetitions.  He  may  study  and  recite  and  listen  to 
demonstrations  and  explanations  for  a  life  time  without 
forming  the  least  idea  as  to  "  what  it  all  means,"  or  be 
ing  awakened  to  the  slightest  interest  in  the  work  before 
him. 


A  MATTER  OF  OPINION.  697 

These  considerations,  to  be  sure,  can  have  little  weight 
with  those  persons  who  persist  in  regarding  the  average 
American  collegian  as  a  being  who  is  endowed  with 
something  more  than  mortal  prudence,  and  who  "  hun 
gers  and  thirsts  after  knowledge  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
his  immortal  soul"  ;  but  to  those  who,  like  myself,  re 
gard  him  as  a  careless  boy-man,  who  is  chiefly  anxious 
to  "  have  a  good  time,"  and  who  shirks  his  work  and 
deceives  his  instructors  in  every  possible  way, — to  those 
who  take  this  realistic  view  of  him,  the  somewhat  unpo 
etical  argument  advanced  in  favor  of  dosing  him  with 
the  classics  may  not  seem  altogether  contemptible.  But 
quite  aside  from  such  "  practical"  considerations,  I  urge 
that  the  classics  for  their  own  sakes  should  form  the 
chief  feature  in  any  scheme  of  general  culture  ;  and  I 
do  not  admit  that  the  discipline  derived  from  any  paral 
lel  course  can  be  equally  valuable.  If  to  the  opinion  of 
a  cultivated  classical  scholar  like  Charles  Astor  Bristed 
any  additional  weight  could  be  given  by  the  agreement 
with  it  of  the  opinion  of  one  who  is  very  far  from  being 
a  scholar  of  any  sort,  I  might  say  that,  of  all  countries 
in  the  wide  world,  America  is  the  last  one  which  can 
afford  to  throw  the  classic  learning  overboard,  and  accept 
any  makeshift  in  place  of  it.  Yale  now  seems  to  be  the 
only  important  institution  in  the  country  which  the 
"reformers"  have  not  gained  possession  of.  For  one,  I 
sincerely  hope  that  this  proud  distinction  will  long  be 
retained  ;  and  as  the  Scientific  School  has  been  thrown 
as  a  sop  to  u  the  New  Education,"  I  trust  the  partisans 
thereof  will  have  the  good  manners  to  abandon  for  the 
present  any  idea  they  may  have  had  of  attacking  the 
main  citadel. 

But  while  I  agree  with  the  most  conservative  member 
of  the  faculty  in  thinking  it  folly  to  treat  college  boys  as 
if  they  were  mature  men,  in  believing  that  a  marking 


698  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

system  of  some  sort  is  a  necessity,  and  in  considering 
the  present  curriculum — deprived  of  its  "  progressive  " 
features — as  good  as  any  arbitrary  scheme  of  the  sort  is 
ever  likely  to  be, — I  must  protest  against  their  putting 
too  implicit  a  confidence  in  the  virtues  of  any  Procrustean 
standard.  Not  exactly  that  I  am  "  in  favor  of  the  rules 
but  against  the  enforcement  of  them,"  but  rather  that  I 
should  like  to  see  the  faculty  oftener  exercise  their  own 
discretion  in  the  decision  of  individual  cases.  Being 
human,  they  of  course  do  it  now  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
the  usage  might  be  made  more  general  with  good  results 
to  all  concerned.  I  mean,  that  is,  that  they  should  oftener 
use  their  common  sense  as  well  as  their  score-books  in 
deciding  upon  a  man's  abilities  and  his  right  to  remain 
in  his  class,  and  should  more  frequently  bear  in  mind  that 
their  scheme  of  marks,  while  good  and  necessary  enough 
for  purposes  of  comparison,  has  little  absolute  signifi 
cance.  A  man  whose  scholastic  attainments  are  all  of 
the  poll-parrot  order  ;  who  has  the  knack  of  glibly  rat 
tling  off  his  lessons  while  understanding  nothing  about 
them  ;  and  whose  daily  walk  and  conversation  show  him 
to  be  utterly  insignificant  in  point  of  character  or  real 
attainments  of  any  sort,  so  that  in  after  life  the  fact  of 
his  being  a  graduate  of  it  will  tend  to  bring  discredit 
upon  the  college  ; — such  a  one  I  would  have  subjected  to 
more  than  the  ordinary  tests  before  allowing  a  sheepskin 
to  be  awarded  him.  On  the  other  hand,  a  man  pos 
sessed  of  a  good  share  of  brains ;  who  is,  after  his  own 
fashion,  a  hard  and  successful  worker  in  certain  branches 
of  knowledge,  included  in  or  outside  the  curriculum  ; 
who  is  honored  and  respected  by  his  classmates,  and 
looked  up  to  as  one  of  their  recognized  leaders ;  and 
who  is  evidently  bound  to  make  his  mark  in  after  life 
and  bring  credit  on  any  college  which  can  claim  him  as 
its  son  j — such  a  one,  I  say,  should  be  allowed  to  stay  in 


A  MA  TTER  OF  OPINION.  699 

his  class  and  graduate,  even  though  he  falls  below  aver 
age  on  the  official  score-books.  Especially  should  this 
be  the  case  if  his  low  stand  be  caused  by  failure  on  one 
particular  branch  of  knowledge,  while  in  other  depart 
ments  he  does  fairly  or  even  well.  I  believe,  then,  in 
the  general  principle  of  putting  all  through  the  same 
mill,  irrespective  of  individual  tastes  and  differences 
(for,  aside  from  what  I  account  the  more  serious  disad 
vantages  of  optional  courses,  I  do  not  think  that  the 
average  undergraduate  understands  his  own  mind  well 
enough  to  choose  what  is  best  for  it) ;  but  I  also  believe 
that  those  in  charge  of  the  system  should  oftener  exer 
cise  their  own  good  sense  in  giving  exceptional  cases  an 
exceptional  treatment.  I  say  "  oftener,"  for  there  is 
nothing  new  or  revolutionary  in  the  plan  which  I  advo 
cate,  and,  however  contrary  to  theory,  it  is  really  prac 
tized  at  the  college  every  day.  Until  members  of  the 
faculty  are  able  to  throw  off  everything  human  and  turn 
themselves  into  mere  machines,  they  can  never  apply 
their  rules  with  strict  impartiality  to  the  empty-headed 
parrots  who  have  risen  to  outrageously  high  stands,  and 
the  men  of  intellect  and  ability  who  have  fallen  to 
scandalously  low  ones ;  for  they  must  always  favor  the 
latter  ones  at  the  expense  of  the  former.  All  I  ask  is, 
that  the  practice  be  extended, — that  "the  system"  be 
enforced  in  a  more  human  and  less  mechanical  manner. 
Boating  and  base-ball  may  not  be  the  most  important 
things  in  the  college  course,  and  it  even  seems  not  un 
likely  that  their  chief  votaries  sometimes  engage  in 
them  to  their  own  bodily  as  well  as  mental  disadvantage. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  stimulus  which  they  impart 
to  the  moderate  men  of  college  in  favor  of  reasonable 
athletic  exercise  and  physical  culture,  more  than  atones 
for  anything  that  can  be  urged  against  prize  regattas  and 
champion  ball-matches.  For  this  reason,  among  others, 


7°°  FOUR   YEARS  AT  YALE. 

I  think  that  the  rather  illiberal  policy  of  the  faculty  in 
regard  to  such  things  is  hardly  to  be  commended.  Sup-' 
posing  that  the  occurrence  of  a  University  race  in  term- 
time  would  break  up  the  established  routine  for  a  day  or 
two,  what  then  ?  there  are  some  two  hundred  and  eighty 
days  in  the  college  year.  Supposing  that  an  out-of-town 
ball-match  or  concert  does  require  the  absence  of  quite  a 
nuriiber  of  men  from  two  or  three  recitations,  what  of  it, 
again?  the  omitted  lessons  can  be  all  made  up.  Not 
that  interruptions  and  absences  are  anything  but  evils 
which  should  be  avoided  whenever  possible,  but  that  the 
gain  to  be  derived  from  them  is  likely  to  more  than 
make  up  for  the  loss.  Mind  rather  than  muscle  is  of 
course  the  object  of  a  college  training;  but  is  it  not  a 
fact  that  the  "  two  best  boating  colleges  of  the  country" 
are  the  "  two  best"  in  most  other  respects  ?  and  that  the 
one  most  successful  with  the  oars  is  the  one  most  widely 
known,  both  at  home  and  abroad  ?  Is  not  the  same 
thing  true  of  the  English  universities  ?  And  did  not  the 
late  International  race  give  Harvard  a  wider  fame  than 
could  have  been  gained  in  any  other  way  ?  The  result 
of  the  annual  University  race,  indeed,  probably  decides 
the  minds  of  a  dozen  or  more  hesitating  sub-Freshmen 
as  to  which  college  they  will  go  to,  and  several  succes 
sive  victories  of  course  have  a  still  more  marked  effect 
in  favor  of  the  successful  college.  Nor  are  prospective 
boating  men  the  only  ones  thus  influenced,  but  good 
scholars,  who  never  expect  to  handle  an  oar,  share  in 
the  human  desire  to  attach  themselves  to  the  winning 
side.  It  is  foolish  to  say,  as  some  do,  that  the  best 
oarsmen  and  best  ball  players  are  likely  to  be  good 
scholars  also,  for  though  they  sometimes  are  such,  and 
though  the  two  characters  are  not  necessarily  inconsist 
ent,  the  tendency  is  plainly  in  the  other  direction.  But 
it  is  not  therefore  safe  to  conclude  that  such  persons 


A  MATTER  OF  OPINION.  701 

would  stand  any  higher  in  their  studies  if  they  never 
laid  hands  on  oar  or  bat;  for  the  chances  are  that  the 
time  thus  saved  would  be  wasted  in  less  creditable  ways, 
and  not  given  to  books  at  all. 

For  the  good  which  their  example  does  in  keeping 
alive  in  college  a  habit  of  attention  to  physical  exercise, 
for  the  reputation  which  their  exploits  bring  to  all  con 
nected  with  the  institution,  and  in  recognition  of  the 
principle  that  honest  work  of  any  sort  is  worthier  than 
listless  inactivity,  I  would  have  the  faculty  treat  the 
boating  and  ball  men  with  a  little  more  leniency  and 
indulgence.  Another  consideration  which  should  induce 
them  to  do  this,  and  to  mildly  encourage  all  rational 
student  customs  is,  that  whatever  makes  college  life 
pleasant  and  attractive  deserves,  in  so  far  lorth,  to  be 
considered  an  advantage  to  it.  Save  for  the  numberless 
little  attractions  which  the  students  themselves  have 
introduced,  college  would  be  a  dreary  place  indeed  ; 
and  it  is  these  unique  and  delightful  customs,  not  the 
toil  and  drudgery  of  study,  which  make  the  graduate 
look  back  longingly  upon  college  life  as  "the  happiest 
period  of  existence."  The  sentiment  of  the  unknown 
genius,  who  thought  "  Yale  College  would  be  a  very 
pleasant  place,  if  its  religious  and  literary  exercises 
could  be  abolished,"  represents  well  enough  a  not  un 
common  feeling  reduced  to  absurdity.  Of  course  there 
can  be  no  play  without  work,  and  the  claims  of  the 
curriculum  are  the  chief  ones  to  be  considered.  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  faculty  are  inclined  to  underrate 
the  importance  of  other  things,  whose  bearings  upon 
the  college  course  are  really  worthy  of  their  attention  ; 
and  to  insist  that  under  no  possible  circumstances  can 
the  established  routine  be  varied  from  to  accommodate 
even  the  most  pressing  necessity  of  any  plan  which 
conflicts  with  it.  Practices  not  obnoxious  to  morals  or 


702  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

discipline,  which  make  the  student  happier  and  more 
contented  in  college,  and  more  regardful  of  its  memory 
after  he  has  left  it,  tend,  I  think,  to  make  him  better 
and  manlier,  also ;  and  surely  ought  not  to  be  dis 
couraged  by  the  hostility  or  indifference  of  those  in 
authority. 

If,  as  I  imagine,  the  chief  value  of  a  college  course 
lies  not  in  the  scholarship  or  absolute  knowledge  with 
which  it  supplies  a  man,  but  rather  in  that  intangible 
thing  called  culture,  or  discipline,  or  mental  balance, 
which  only  its  possessor  can  appreciate,  and  which  he 
cannot  describe, — certainly  no  one  can  say  that  the 
peculiar  life  and  customs  which  the  students  themselves 
adopt  form  an  unimportant,  even  though  it  be  an  un 
recognized,  part  of  that  course.  Exactly  how  important 
this  part  is  I  will  not  attempt  to  determine,  but  this  I 
will  say,  that  were  it  possible  for  it  to  be  removed,  I 
think  the  value  of  the  curriculum  would  thereby  be 
diminished  by  at  least  one  half.  The  boy  who  comes  to 
college  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  shirking  every 
possible  study  is  hardly  to  be  considered  a  very  ad 
mirable  character,  but  I  think  he  is  less  to  be  pitied 
than  the  one  who  goes  through  the  four  years,  digging 
and  grinding  for  a  stand,  existing  all  unconscious  of  the 
peculiar  and  delightful  life  about  him,  and  graduating  in 
as  utter  ignorance  of  its  philosophy  as  if  he  had  never 
left  his  paternal  roof-tree.  The  persons  best  fitted  to 
thoroughly  enjoy  college  life,  and  therefore  the  persons 
whom  that  life  most  benefits,  are  the  ones  with  sense 
enough  to  look  on  study  as  the  most  important  thing, 
without  considering  it  the  only  one  worth  attending  to  ; 
with  ability  and  previous  drill  enough  to  give  them  a  fair 
start,  and  banish  the  danger  of  falling  below  average ; 
with  age  and  discretion  enough  to  retain  their  indi 
viduality  and  self-control ;  and  with  youth  and  humor 


A  MATTER  OF  OPINION.  7°3 

enough  to  enter  heartily  into  the  spirit  of  things  and 
appreciate  the  comic  side  of  the  little  world  in  which 
they  dwell.  But  it  is  almost  useless  to  mention  these 
qualifications  for  enjoying  college  life,  for  nearly  every 
one  enjoys  it.  There  is  a  sort  of  subtle  influence  about 
the  thing  which  is  all  but  irresistible,  and  which  opens 
the  hearts  of  the  most  imperturbable  and  unpoetic  of 
men,  so  that,  at  least  when  they  leave  it,  few  can  help 
calling  it  a  pleasant  one.  Extremes  meet  on  Presenta 
tion  Day,  for  then  it  is  that  the  most  reckless  "bummer," 
who  has  persistently  cursed  the  faculty  and  "  the  sys 
tem,"  and  thought  himself  the  most  ill-used  of  mortals, 
amid  his  regrets  for  wasted  opportunities,  suddenly 
realizes  that  he's  "  had  a  good  time,  after  all  "  ;  and,  as ' 
he  sees  this  good  time  forever  slipping  from  his  grasp, 
he  joins  with  the  high-stand  man  —  equally  regretful, 
perhaps,  over  his  wasted  opportunities  for  forming 
friendships — in  swearing  that  "There's  no  place  like 
Yale  !  "  This  sentiment  I  myself  endorse.  Other  insti 
tutions  may,  perhaps,  impart  a  better  education,  a  larger 
amount  of  knowledge  to  their  pupils  ;  but  none  other,  I 
think,  inspires  in  them  all  quite  so  warm  and  genuine 
an  affection  for  itself  as  does  Yale  ;  none  other  offers 
such  a  varied  and  peculiar  experience  in  life  and  man 
ners.  To  those  possessed  of  sufficient  literary  taste  to 
appreciate  it,  and  sufficient  money  to  afford  it,  I  recom 
mend  this  experience  as  a  thing  never  to  be  regretted  ; 
as  a  thing  which,  in  the  simple  enjoyment  of  it,  most 
amply  "  pays."  But  the  object  of  any  scheme  of  educa 
tion  worthy  of  the  name  is  not  the  making  of  good 
scholars,  or  good  lawyers,  or  good  doctors,  or  good 
specialists  of  any  sort;  it  is  rather  the  making  of  good 
men.  There  is  much  in  the  state  of  things  about  the 
college  to  alarm  a  theorist,  and  to  pain  almost  anyone ; 
thereare  evil  influences  and  immoral  tendencies  ;  there 


704  FOUR    YEARS  AT  YALE. 

are  faults,  shortcomings  and  imperfections  in  long  array  ; 
but,  spite  of  them  all,  the  good  largely  preponderates, 
and  it  is  because  the  lesson  of  the  past  as  well  as  my 
own  observation  has  taught  me,  that  the  Yale  training 
tends  to  make  better  men  of  those  to  whom  it  is  applied, 
that  I  call  that  training  in  the  best  sense  a  successful 
and  a  practical  one. 

I  should  feel  conscience  stricken  if  I  closed  this  book 
without  referring  to  that  vital  need  of  the  college, — 
more  money.  In  common  with  all  Yale  men  I  had  a 
general  idea  that  the  institution  was  poorly  off  in  avail 
able  funds,  but  until  I  engaged  in  my  present  work  I 
never  fully  realized  its  utter  and  disheartening  want  of 
them.  The  history  of  the  college,  in  fact,  is  simply  the 
history  of  one  long  and  desperate  fight  against  poverty 
and  annihilation.  How,  upon  such  a  meager  pecuniary 
basis,  it  has  ever  managed  to  attain  its  present  celebrity 
and  influence  seems  altogether  past  comprehension  ; 
and  if  man's  achievements  are  to  be  judged  according 
to  the  means  placed  at  his  disposal,  the  past  managers 
of  the  college  must  be  looked  upon  as  prodigies  of 
worldly  wisdom  and  executive  ability,  for  their  doings 
were  really  little  less  than  marvelous.  If  finances  were 
ever  managed  with  greater  economy,  or  moneys  ever 
spent  to  greater  advantage  for  the  end  in  view,  than 
those  of  Yale  College,  the  instance  should  be  published 
to  the  world.  In  the  whole  history  of  the  institution 
there  seems  never  to  have  been  a  penny  lost,  never  an 
expense  incurred  which  was  not  absolutely  necessary 
and  which  did  not  produce  the  expected  return.  The 
fact  is  simply  wonderful ;  and  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  managers  were  "  ten  Congregational  clergymen 
from  Connecticut,"  who  are  not  popularly  looked  upon  as 
practical  men-of- affairs,  it  may  even  be  called  miraculous. 
Ambition  is  not  the  only  thing  which  overreaches  itself, 


A  MATTER  OF  OPINION.  7°5 

however,  and  the  remarkable  things  which  were  accom 
plished  by  small  means  induced  the  disastrous  belief 
that  the  college  had  control  of  large  ones,  and  needed 
nothing  more, — a  belief  which  has  unfortunately  pre 
vailed  to  this  very  day. 

But  success  was  due  quite  as  much  to  the  personal 
sacrifices  and  self-denial  of  the  college  officers  as  to 
their  skilful  expenditure  of  the  paltry  funds  at  their  dis 
posal.  In  its  officers  the  institution  has  been  singularly 
fortunate, — its  presidents  especially  having  been  with 
hardly  an  exception  men  of  executive  tact  and  energy 
as  well  as  liberal  culture, — and  there  have  been  few  or 
none  of  those  jealousies  and  heartburnings  among  the 
faculty,  which  have  so  often  impaired  the  efficiency  of 
other  college  governments.  The  work  of  instruction 
has  been  for  the  most  part  a  labor  of  love,  for  the 
salaries  paid  to  the  president  and  older  professors  have 
usually  been  less  than  their  ordinary  living  expenses, 
and  far  less  than  they  could  earn  at  almost  any  other 
profession  in  life.  Nothing  but  a  high  and  patriotic 
sense  of  duty,  and  an  entire  disregard  for  their  own 
selfish  interests,  could  keep  such  a  band  of  men  to 
gether  ;  but  the  public  which  believes  the  college  is  rich 
because  it  is  well  managed,  judges  also  that  its  officers 
are  well  paid  because — they  ought  to  be.  "  Starvation 
wages  "  in  every  department  is  not  the  worst  of  Yale's 
troubles,  though  it  is  a  desperate  one.  Money  is  wanted 
for  everything :  for  additional  instructors,  for  books,  for 
buildings,  for  apparatus,  for  scholarships,  for  needed 
improvements  of  every  sort :  and  unless  it  is  obtained 
the  college  must  expect  to  decline  in  influence  and  use 
fulness.  Many  as  have  been  its  crises  in  the  past,  it 
does  not  seem  as  if  Yale  ever  stood  in  sorer  need  of 
pecuniary  help  than  now.  Assisted  thus  as  it  should 
be,  it  could  take  tremendous  strides  ahead,  for  the  pos- 


7°  FOUR  YEARS  AT  YALE. 

sibilities  now  before  it  are  truly  magnificent.  Left  alone 
to  starve,  it  can  hardly  help  falling  irretrievably  behind. 
To  a  man  knowing  the  real  necessities  of  this,  and  all 
the  other  old  and  respectable  colleges,  if  there  be  any 
thing  more  exasperating  than  the  thought  that  they  are 
popularly  considered  "rich,"  it  is  that  other  thought  of 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  annually  wasted, 
or  worse  than  wasted,  in  the  "founding"  of  new  "col 
leges  "  and  "  universities,"  to  keep  alive  the  name  of 
some  Jones  or  Tompkins,  and  bring  into  contempt  the 
cause  of  liberal  culture.  The  blessing  to  the  country  of 
having  all  such  money  sunk  in  the  sea,  could  be  only 
equaled  by  that  other  blessing  of  having  all  but  a  half 
dozen  of  all  the  American  "colleges"  founded  in  the 
present  century,  blotted  from  existence,  or  turned  into 
preparatory  schools  for  the  other  ones.  It  seems  to  be 
almost  a  fixed  law  of  the  universe  that  the  ability  to 
amass  wealth  is  seldom  joined  with  the  ability  to  expend 
it  wisely,  and  that  well-meaning  people  who  give  large 
sums  with  the  hope  of  becoming  remembered  as  bene 
factors  of  their  race,  become  remembered  only  to  be 
cursed  for  their  folly  by  the  deluded  victims  of  their 
munificence.  Can  the  fact  never  be  realized  that  a  col 
lege  is  as  much  a  growth  as  a  tree,  and  can  no  more 
than  it  be  brought  into  the  world  full-grown,  even  by 
the  expenditure  of  millions  ?  Can  the  benevolent  classes 
never  learn  the  policy  of  giving  their  money  to  the  older 
colleges,  where  every  penny  of  it  "  tells  "  at  once  ?  And, 
oh,  ye  men  who  have  the  dollars !  when  you  at  last  de 
cide  to  give  to  Yale  the  millions  that  she  deserves,  do 
not,  I  beg  of  you,  forget  her  marvelous  ability  in  using 
money  wisely  in  the  past;  and  do  not  —  as  you  value 
your  own  reputations,  do  not — attach  conditions  to  your 
bequests. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abandonment  of  Cup  Presentation,  540 
Spoon  Exhibition,  422 
Absence,  Leave  of,  .  .  .  582 
Academical  and  Profess'l  Students,  39 
Advanced  Standing,  .  .  .  548 
Adornments  of  a  College  Room,  294 
Advertisements  in  Lit.,  .  .431 

Advice  to  sub-Freshmen,  .  86,  687 
Advocate  and  Courant,  .  .  395 

Afternoon  of  Presentation,  .  488,  492 
Age  of  Deceased  Grad's,  Average,  68 1 
Agreements  not  to  Pledge,  .  .  132 

Alpha  Delta  Phi 106 

Sigma  Phi,  ...       89 

Alumni  Associations  in  the  Cities,    685 

Hall,  Erection  of,        .        .      23 

Meetings  at  Commencement,  53^ 

Rcpresent'n  in  the  Corpo'n,      12 

Society  of  the,      .        .        .     678 

Andover  Academy,        .        .        .     688 

Annual  Catalogue,          .        .        .     682 

Dinner  of  the  Freshmen,  .     277 

Examination,     .        .        .     556 

Cheating  at,      633 

Anomalous  Position  of  Gamma  Nu,  79 
Appealing  to  the  Faculty,  .  .  584 
Applause  in  Recitation,  .  .651 
Appointments  for  Jun.  Exhibition,  590 
Areopagus,  The  Court  of,  .  .  308 
Arrangement  of  Recitation  Rooms,  550 
Art  Building,  Erection  of  the  .  24 
Astronomical  Prizes,  .  .  .  605 
Athenaeum,  Erection  of  the,  .  .  15 
Newspaper,  The,  .  443 
Attractive,  Making  College  Life,  .  701 

Badges  of  the  Societies  : 

Freshman,        ....       57 
Sophomore,      .         .         .88,  89,  90 

Junior 107 

Senior,  ....  144,  155 
Miscellaneous,  .  207,  230,  236 
Banger  of  Sigma  Theta,  The  91,  460 
Banger  Rushes,  ....  257 
Banner,  The  Yale  ....  454 
Banquets  of  the  Alumni  Clubs,  .  685 

Baseball, 313 

Beethoven  Society,  The  .  .  303 
Behavior  in  Recitation,  .  .651 

Benevolent  Society,  The         .         .     525 
Berkeley  Association,  The     .        .     525 
Hall,        ....       14 


PAGE 

Berkeley  Scholarship,  .  .  -595 
Best  Days  of  Linonia  and  Brothers,  200 
Betting  at  the  University  Race,  .  385 
Beta  Xi,  Delta,  .  .  .90 

Biennial  Examination,   .         .         .     568 
Jubilee,    ....     280 
Blackballing,  .         .         .         .103 

Blue  and  Red,  ....  383 
Board  and  Lodging,  .  .  .  237 
Boat  Houses,  .  .  .  342,  343 
Boating,  ....  327-402 
Boats,  Lists  of,  328,  333,  336,  339 

Bond  required  by  the  College,  .  548 
Bones  Society,  The  Skull  and,  .  144 
Bookstore,  The  College,  .  .211 
Bookworm  of  the  Courant,  The  .  469 
Bread  and  Butter  Rebellions,  .  247 
Brick  Colleges,  The  Row  of,  .  14 
Bristed  Scholarship,  The  .  .  599 
Brothers  and  Linonia,  .  .  190-221 
Brown  University  Orsmen,  .  364-398 
Bull  and  Stones  Society,  The  .  171 
Bulletin  Catalogue  of  1863,  .  .  459 
Bullyism  and  Bully  Clubs,  .  .  502 
Burial  of  Euclid,  The,  .  .  .  319 
Burning  the  Coal  Yard,  .  .  312 
Buttery,  The  Old,  .  .  .  247 

Cabinet  Building,  The  ...  20 
Calendar,  Arrangement  of  the  .  677 
Calliope  Society,  The  .  .  23,  221 
Campaign  of  Linonia  and  Brothers,  194 
the  Fresh.  Societies,  73 
Camping-out  on  the  Thimbles,  .  531 

Candy  Sam 294 

Cap  Snatching,       ....     252 

Card  Playing,          ....     518 

Catalogues  of  College,    .        .        .     682 

Freshman  Societies,       55 

Junior  Societies,       .     116 

Linonia  and  Brothers,  207 

Phi  Beta  Kappa,     .     253 

Senior  Societies,    146,  157 

Caution  to  the  Reader,  .         .     686 

Cecilia  Society,  The       .         .         .     303 

Centennials  of  Linonia  and  Brothers,  218 

Champion  Flag,  Course  of  the,      .     355 

Chapel,  Erection  of  the,         .         .       18 

Behavior  in,       .         .         .     654 

Prayers  in,          .         .         .     569 

Sunday  in,          .         .         .571 

Character  of  the  Lit.,     .        .        .     442 


7o8 


INDEX. 


PAGE 
2,  8,  10 
624,  645 

•  496 

•  656 

•  529 

•  23S 

•  573 
.  288 

•  572 

•  581 

•  5 

•  5 


Charter  of  the  College,  . 
Cheating  in  Recitation, 
Cheering  the  Buildings, 
Faculty,    . 
Chess  Tournament, 
Chi  Delta  Theta, 
Choir,  The  College, 
Choosing  Rooms  in  College, 
Church,  The  College,     . 
Church  Papers, 
Clark  Scholarship,  The 

Class  Cup, 

Elections,  .... 
Histories,  .  .  .  279 
Ivy, 

Mottoes  and  Seals,  .'  .'  47 
Orators  and  Poets,  .  .  4s 
Pictures,  .  ,  .  .  46 
Races  with  Harvard,  ,  -37 

Records,        .        .        .        "    J. 
Reunions,      .         .         .         .53 

Statistics 4c 

Classics,  A  Pract'l  Argument  for  tlie  69 
Coalitions,  ....  ,34|  40 
Cochleaureati,  .  .  128,134,40 
Coffin  Society  of '69,  The  .  .  i7 
Collation  of  Presentation  Day,  The  48 
Colors  of  the  College, 
Commencement,  . 

The  First, 

Ball,   ....     67 

Regattas,  1853-58,    .    35 

Commodore,  Duties  of,  .      331,  33 

Commons,  The  Old,        .         .         .  '  24 

Comparison  of  the  SociQtie 

Freshman, 

Sophomore,     ....     105 

Junior '.140 

Senior I7$ 

Different  year,          .         .         .     iS6 

Composition  Prizes,        .         .         .     607 

Skinning,    .         .         .'     64r 

Concerts  of  Beethoven  Society 

Glee  Club,  .  .  303 
Concio  ad  Clerum,  .  .  .  68c 
Conditions,  .  .  .  .  .54- 
Connecticut  Hall,  Erection  of,  '  i^ 
Constitutions  of  the  Navy,  .  331-33^ 
Contesting  Elections,  . 
Conventions  of  Junior  Societies,  .  119 
Corporation  of  the  College,  .  .  XI 
Cost  of  College  Rooms,  .  .291 
Spoon  Exhibition,  .  .418 
Courants,  The  Yale  and  College,  460 
Course  of  Discipline,  .  .  .  ^75 
Cramming  for  Annual,  .  .  .  636 
Crew  of '59,  The  University,  .  373 
Crews  of '64-'7i,  The  University,  400 


•'64-'7i, 

Davenport's  Lithographs,      .  65,  324 

Debates,  The  Prize,       .         .  70,  213 

Debt  of  Boat  House,      .         .  .     34,j 

Declamations,  Soph  Prize,     .  606 

Decline  of  Society  Zeal,          .  76 
Dedication  of  the  Boat  House, 

DeForest  Fund,    ...  603 


PAGE 

.  616 
.  602 
.  612 

•     587 
670 
90 

53 
107 
106 
42 
164 
672 
671 
586 
574 
387 
8,  33 
58<J 
107 
520 
527 


DeForest  Prize  Medal, 

Scholarship, 

Speaking, 

Degradation,  The  Penalty  of 
Degrees,  Conferring  of  .  " 
Delta  Beta  Xi, 
Kappa, 

Epsilon,    . 
Phi,  Alpha  . 
Dialect,  The  College      . 
Diggers'  Society,  The    . 
Dinner  at  Commencement,  The 
Diploma,  The  College  . 
Discipline  in  the  Olden  Time, 
Discipline,  The  Course  of     . 
Disputed  Time  of  1865,  The 
Divinity  College,  Old  and  New, 
Division  of  Classes  by  Rank, 
DKE  Society,  The 
Dress,  Habits  in,    . 
Drinking,  Habits  of,       .         ', 
Durfee  College,  Erection  of 

Easthampton  Academy,         .        .    688 
Eating  Clubs,          .      '  2,g 

Editors  of  Lit.,  ...'.'  440 
Effect  of  the  Honor  System,  *  '.  618 
Society  System,  189,  690 
.  Optional  Studies,  .  695 

Electioneering  for  Societies,   60,  73,  194 
Elections  to  Societies,  giving  out,    96, 

121,   147,   Ib2 

to  Phi  Beta  Kappa,      .     228 
entering  New  Haven  Society,  C27 

Entertainment  of  Base  Ball  Clubs  318 
£ve  of  Thanksgiving,  The  .  .  269 
Examinations,  Annual  .  .  .  556 
Biennial  .  .  568 

by  Proxy  .  .641 
Cheating  at  .  .  625 
Entrance  .  .  523 
Term  .  .  cc-> 

exchanging  Class  Pictures,  .  .  474 
Excuses  and  Excuse  Papers,  .  581 
Executive  Committee  ot  the  Alumni,  680 
Exercises  of  the  Societies,  69,  102,  124 
Jceler  Academy,  ....  688 
Exhibition  of  Gymnastics,'  .  .  .404 
of  Linonia  and  Brothers  202 
Junior  .  .  .  659  . 

ics  of  Societies,  .        75.139,170 


•ables  about  Freshman  Initiation,      83 
'acuity  and  Freshmen,  .  .  311,  692 

Meetings  of,      .         .         .       13 
Respect  for,      .        .        .658 
all  Races,  1859-67,  ?<;, 

alse  Election,  A,  .         .         .     3" 

family  and  Local  Pretensions,  .  521 
arewell  Cheers  to  Faculty,  .  .  656 
of  Presentation  Day,  .  498 
of  Sophs  to  Fresh.  Soda's,  68 
ivnam  College,  Erection  of  .  ->n 
ence,  On  the  .  .  .  298,308 

'euilletons gjf  46o 

nancial  Wants  of  the  College,    .     704 


INDILX. 


7°9 


PAGE 

TAGE 

Fireman's  Riot  of  1841,         •        •    5°4 

Firemen  in  iS58,  Fight  with  the,    .     sog 
Fitting  for  College,          .         .         .687 
Flag  oi  Base  Ball  Championship,      3rs 
Boating  Championship,     .     355 
Foot  Ball  Game,  The     .        .         •     259 

litiation,  Senior    .                  .      i49>  J^3 
Linonia  and  Brothers         199 
Phi  Beta  Kappa     .         .231 
Cochleaureati        .        .     409 
Inquiry,  The  Society  of,         .         .     525 
Insigne  Cochleaureatorum,    .         .     411 

Foot  Racing,           .         .         .         •     S"?2 

Instrumental  Clubs  and  Music,     .     305 

Foul  Play  at  Race  of  1870,     .         .     389 
Founding  of  the  College,       .        .        2 

Freshman  Customs,       .        .      237-286 

Intercepting  Letters  Home,            .     648 
Invitations  to  Junior  Exhibition,         662 
Sen.  Society  Con.,  152,  157 

Scholarships,          .         .     600 

vy,  Planting  the  Class           .         .     497 

Societies,        .        .         51-86 

Studies,          .         .         .559 

anitors  of  the  Societies,         .         .     185 

Funds  of  the  Institution,  General         4' 

ournalism,     .                                         424 

Scholarship       617 

ubilee  Jokes,         •         .                        268 

Furnishing  a  College  Room,           .     292 

unior  Appointments,    .         .         .     59° 

Exhibition,           .         .         .659 

Gallinipper,  The     ....     46° 

Life  and  Customs,      .      327-423 

Gamma-Nu-  Delta-Phi    Embroglio 

Politics  in  '69,     .         .         .128 
Promenade,          .         .         •     °64 

of  '69,  The,  130 

Societies,     .         .        .      106-141 

Gambling,  Habits  of,      .         .         .     529 

Studies,        .         .        .        .561 

Gate  Stealing  253 

General  Statement,  The  Annual  .     681 

Cappa  Sigma  Epsilon,            .         .       53 

Geometrv,  Recitations  in,        .     554,  624 

Theta,      ...       87 

Gifts  to  t'he  College,  Recent,          .       40 

Keys  Society,  The  Scroll  and,        .     155 

Glee  Clubs,     .        .        .        .        -303 
Glyunaand  Vartina,  Organization  of,  335 

Chigsley  Trust  Association,  .         .     '59 
knockdown  of  1870,  The,      .         •     5'7 

Government  in  the  Olden  Time,    .     585 

Gridiron,  The          ....     445 
Grips,  Society  183 
Graduates,  Summary  of,         .         .     683 
Gymnasium,  Erection  of,        .         .     131 
Gymnastic  Practice  and  Exhibitions,  402 

Laboratory,  Erection  of  the,           .       20 
Lamp  Smashing,    ....     264 
Latin  Composition  Prizes,     .         .     604 
Law  School,  The,           .        .        .34 
Laws  and  Regulations,           .         .     5^5 

Halls  of  the  Societies,      59,  94,  124,  145 
i5S,  166,  206,  227 

Lease  of  Boat  House,    .        .         .     347 
Lectures  of  Sophs  to  Freshmen,    -     2X4 

Hannibal,        295 
Harvard,  Ball  Matches  with,          .     314 

Behavior  at,     .         .         .685 
Legislative  Grants  to  the  College,   9,  10 

Boat  Races  with,     .      366-402 
Chess  Trials  with,  .        .     529 

Controversy  of  1870,        .     395 
Junior  Societies  at,         .     115 
Time  of  1865,          .        .     387 
University  Crews,            .     400 
H.its  of  the  Freshmen,  Annual  277,  281 
1  la/1  :g  ot  Freshmen,  The      .     253,  692 
Hi.^h  Street  Fracas  of  1858,  The    .     5°9 
Histories,  Class,     .         .         .     279,  48.; 
Honors,           ....      590-619 
Hopkins  Grammar  School,            .     689 
How  Faculty  and  Students  Address 
One  Another,  65-, 
Humanists,  Last  Stronghold  of  the    698 

38,  40 
Library,  Erection  of  the,         .         .       21 
Volumes  in  the,         .        23,  208 
Licentiousness,  Extent  of,     .         •     5-7 
Linonia  and  Brothers,             .       190-221 
Literary  Cabinet,  The             .         •     443 
Literary  Magazine,  The  Vale,        .     425 
Editors  of  the,  128,  131,  134 
Quarrel  in  '64,     .         .165 
Literary  Quidnunc,  The  Yale,        .     448 
Little  Gentleman,  The,           .         .     444 
Local  Clubs  of  Alumni,           .         .     685 
Lounger  of  the  Courant,  The         .     469 
Lyceum,  Erection  of  the,       .         .       >7 
Lying  about  Marks,        .         .         .     648 

Hurlbut  Scholarship,  The    .        .     60 

Macedonia,  A  Cry  from          .         .     706 

Imitation  Senior  Societies  in  Other 

Machines  for  Skinning,           .         .6:7 

Colleges,  18 

Making  up  Omitted  Lessons,      s^'o,  645 

Incorporation  of  the  College,         .       i 

Manners  620-658 

Navy,            .     341 

Marks,             ....      5r<r5sv 

Index,  A  Skinning,         .         .         .     62^ 

Mathematical  Prizes,     .         .         •     605 

to  Lit.,         .         .         .         -43 

Matriculation,         .         .         .         .     576 

The  Yale,             ...     45 

Matter  of  Opinion,  A,             .      6^6-706 

Initiation,  Freshman      .         .          '>-',  X 

Medals  for  University  Crews,         .     386 

Sophomore              .         .       9 

Medical  School,  The,     .         .         .       35 

Junior             .         .         .12 

Medley,  The,           .         .         .         -44^ 

32 


yio 


INDEX. 


Meetings  of  the  Societies: 
Freshman, 

Sophomore,          .        .        .     100 

Junior,          ....     122 

Senior,  ....     152 

Linonia  nncl  Brothers,          .     20 

Phi  Beta  Kappn,  .         .     232 

Memorabilia,  ....     477 

Meteoric  Shower  of  1866,       .        .    312 

Missionary  Society,  The,        .         .     525 

Mission  Schools,  The  Sunday,       .     52" 

Mock  Catalogue  of  1857,  The,       .     459 

Rules  for  Boat  Races,          .     369 

Societies,      ....     309 

Modern  Languages  Scholarship,   .     602 

Money  Spent  in  N.  Haven,  Ain't  of,  519 

Monitors, 576 

Moral  Society,  The        .         .         .     525 
Mottoes  and  Seals,  Class,       .         .     47 
Eating  Club,         .         .         .242 
Societies,    57,  88,  89,  90,  107,  15 
164,  169,  184,  207,  225,  230,  235 
Muscle  Men,  The  Claims  of  the,        699 

New  London,  Races  at,  .  .  361 
Navy,  Organization  of  the,  .  .  331 
Needs  of  the  College,  .  .  .  704 
New  Haven  Society,  .  .  .  522 
Nicknames  of  College  Officers,  .  655 
Nominations  for  Class  Officers,  .  135 
North  College,  Erection  of,  .  18 

Middle  College,  Erection  of,      17 
Notable  Society  Men,      53,  79,  117,  146 
175,  441 

Numbering  of  the  College  Rooms,  19 
Nu  Tau  Phi,  .  .  .  .309 

Obituary  Customs,  .  .  .  534 
Record,  The  Annual,  .  680 
Omega  Lambda  Chi,  .  .  .310 
Opening  Loads,  ....  415 
Opinions  of  the  Writer,  .  686-710 
Orations  and  Poems  of  PBK,  .  226 
Orator  and  Poet,  Election  of,  .  484 
Organization  of  a  Freshman  Class,  549 
Origin  of  the  College,  .  .  .  i 

Packing  a  College  Entry,  .  .  290 
Senior  Society  Crowd,  176 
Painting  Disgrace,  The,  .  .  262 
Patrons  of  the  College,  Recent,  .  42 
Payment  of  the  Boat-Housc  Debt,  349 
Peabody  Museum,  The  .  30,  41 
Peanut  Bums,  ...  70,  231 
Peculiarities  of  the  Senior  Societies,  142 
Peelers,  Hostility  towards  the,  .  515 
Penalties  for  Skinning,  .  .  649 
Pencil  Skinning,  ....  633 
Permanent  Boat  Club?,  .  .  335 
Phelps  Barge  Races,  The  .  .  359 
Phi  Beta  Kappa,  ....  224 
Philosophy  of  the  Society  System,  690 
I'hiThetaPsi,  .  .  .  .90 
Phu'nix  Society,  The,  .  .  223 
Pioneer  Boat  at  Yale,  The,  .  32* 
Plagiarism, 4S7 


Pledging  Sub-Freshmen,        .        73,  194 

Freshmen,        .        .       95,  132 

Pocket  Skinning,    ....     634 

Poems,  Prize,          ....     609 

Police  ofthe  College  Buildings,      .     296 

Policies  of  the  Senior  Societies,     .     iSo 

Politics  and  the  Freshman  Dinner,    281 

in  Linonia  and  Brothers,         203 

.  in  '69,          .         .         .128,  485 

Portraits  in  the  Lit.,        .         .         .     439 

Posters  ofthe  Sophomore  Societies,    95 

Pot  Pourri,  The  Yale,  .        .     456 

Prayers  at  Chapel,          .         .         .     569 

Preparatory  Schools,  The  Drill  at,     6SS 

Presentation  Day,          .        .        .     479 

of  the  Silver  Cup,     .     539 

Wooden  Spoon,  405 

Presidents,  The  Nine,  .        .        8 

Houses  of  the,  .  .  31 
Princeton,  Ball  Games  with,  .  314 

Printers  of  the  Lit.,         .         .         .     427 
Prize   Compositions,      .        .        .     670 
Debates,       .        .        .       70,  213 
Declamations,       .         .         .     6^6 
Lists  of  Freshman  Societies,       77 
Medal  of  Lit,       .        .        .     432 
Procession  at  Commencement,       .     667 
Procrusteanism  and  Common  Sense,  699 
Professorships,  Organization  of,      .     13 
Promenade  Concerts,     .         .     421,  664 
Pronunciation  of  Greek  So.  Letters,  553 
Protection  of  Fresh,  by  Faculty,  311,  692 
Psi  Upsilon,  ....     106 

Puckle  Papers,  Attempt.  Seizure  of,  641 
Skinning,       .         .     628 

Quarrel  of  Lit.  Editors  in  '64,    165,  434 
Quinsigimond,  Regattas  at,  .     370 

Rank,  Marks  for     .         .         .         .     578 
Reading  of  Class  Histories,         279,  495 

Room,  The  College  .  209 
Recitation,  Behavior  in  .  .651 

Management  of  .  .551 
Reconstruction  ofthe  College  Yard,  2.S 
Records,  List  of  Class,  .  .  536 

Reformers,  A  Word  to  the,  .     691 

Refusal  of  Harvard  to  Row  in  1871,  399 
Senior  Society  Elections,  178 
Regard  for  Scholarship,          .        .     594 
Societies,       .       76,  105,  139 
Regatta  Day  at  Worcester,    .         .     377 
Relations  of  Junior  Societies  to  Out 
side  Chapters,   120 
Religkus  Observances,  Voluntary,     524 

Troubles,  ...  7 
Removal  from  Saybrook,  .  .  6 
Requirements  for  Admission,  .  546 
Respect  for  the  Faculty,  .  .  657 
Review,  The  Yale,  .  .  .  447 
Reunions,  Post  Graduate,  .  .  535 
Riding  and  Driving,  .  .  .  533 
Riker's  and  the  Boat  House  of '59,  342 
Riots  with  Firemen,  .  .  .  505 
Rivalry  of  Societies,  .  .  53,193 
Robbing  the  Printers,  .  .  673 


INDEX. 


711 


Rooming  in  College,       .         .         •     287 
Rowing  Associa'n  of"  Am.  Colleges,    398 
Rum  and  Riot   at  Old  Commence 
ments,  676 

Rank  Scholarship,  The,  .  .  604 
Rushes  between  Sophs  and  Fresh.,  256 
Russell  Trust  Association,  .  .146 

Sailing  Excursions,         .         .         .     53° 

Saltonstall  Regattas,  The;,      .         .     357 

Scholarship  Funds,         .         .         .617 

Marks,        .         .         .     57» 

Scholars  of  the  House,  .         .     595 

Scientific  Races  with  Harvard,      .     377 

Score  Docks  of  the  Faculty,  .     5^4 

Scroll  and  Key  Society,  The,          .     155 

Seals  and  Mottoes,  Class,      .         .     477 

Second  Issues  of  the  Lit  ,       .     164.  434 

Secret  Members  of  Senior  Societies,  160 

Self-denial  of  College  Officers,        ,     705 

Senior  Customs,      .         .         .      424-499 

Politics  in  '69,     .         .         .     484 

Societies,     .        .        .      142-189 

Studies,        ....     563 

Sentiment  towards  the  Faculty,     .     658 

Servitude  of  Freshmen,  Former,         282 

Sheffield  Scientific  School,     .         .       36 

Shows, 659-685 

Siege  of  South  College,          .        .     5°7 

Sigma  Delta,  ....       53 

Epsilon,  Kappa,  .         .       53 

Phi,  Alpha,          .        .        .89 

Theta,  Kappa,    ...       87 

Significance  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa,         234 

Singing,  Society,     .        70,  101,  123,  163 

on  the  Fence,    .         .         .     308 

Sitting  Room,  The,        .        .        .     444 

on  the  Fence,      .         .         .     298 

Situation  of  the  College  Square,     .       14 

Skating, 533 

Skull  and  Bones  Society,  The, 

Slang  Terms,  List  of,     .         .         .       42 

Smoking,  Habits  of,        ...     528 

the  Freshmen,        .        .     249 

Society,  New  Haven's  Best,  .     522 

Institutions,  The,      .      190-236 

Tax,  Analysis  of  the,         .     220 

Songs,  Collections  of  the  College,       300 

Sophomore   Club  of  '57,         .         .       8 

Customs,    .         .      287-32C 

Declamations,    .         .     6o( 

Howlings  at  Fresh.,        255 

Sentiment  Concerning 

Freshmen,  30 

Societies,    .         .        87-105 

Studies,      .         .         .     56 

Type,  The,         .         .     10 

South  Middle  College,  Erection  of,      14 

College,  Erection  of,  . 
Southvvorth  Cup  Races,  .  .  360 
Spade  and  Grave  Society,  The,  .  16 
Spoon  Exhibition,  The  Wooden,  40 
Springfield,  Boat  Race  at,  .  .  36 
Stabbin;  a  Tutor  in  1843,  .  .  51 
Stafford  Homicide  of  1860,  The,  51 
Stand,  Announcement  of,  .  .  57 


land,  Comparative  Nature  of, 
tar  and  Dart  Society,  The, 
tatement  of  Facts,      .         1-93,  197, 
tatistical  Comparison  of  the  Socie 
ties,  176,  408,  423,  432, 
465,  485.  599-  600,  602, 
tatistics,  Class,      .... 

of  University  Races, 
tealing  an  Examination  Paper,  625, 
Student's  Companion,  The, 
Studies,  ....      452 

tones  Society,  The  Bull  and, 
Subjects  for  Commence't  Speeches, 
uftrage,  Rights  of,         ... 
umptuary  Laws  of  1821,  The, 


592 
174 
199 


.66,  85,  74 


unday  Services,    . 
ippers,  .         . 

wearing,  Habits  of, 
sweeps,"  The  College,    .        . 
word  and  Crown  Society,  The, 


616 
491 
400 
673 
444 

171 

670 
5?2 
519 
57i 
410 

293 
173 

Table  Manners  in  the  Olden  Time,  246 
Tea  Kettle  Society,  The,  .  .  173 
Temperance  Society,  The,  .  .  525 
Term  Examinations,  .  .  .  5=5 
Text  Books,  Changes  in,  .  ^  565 
Thanksgiving  Jubilee,  .  .  .  265 
Theory  of  the  Marking  System,  .  588 
Theological  School,  The,  .  .  32 
Theta  Psi,  Phi,  ....  90 
Time  of  the  1865  University  Race,  387 
to  Enter  College,  The,  .  687 
Titles  of  Commencement  Speeches,  670 
Tomahawk  of  Sigma  Phi,  The,  91,  460 
Town  and  Gown,  .  .  .  500-541 
Townsend  Premiums,  The,  .  .611 
Traditions  of  Sen.  Soc's,  153,  164.  168 
Trainers  of  University  Crews,  .  387 
Transformation  of  Junior  Ex,  .  660 
Treasury  Building,  The,  .  .  21 
Treats  and  Spreads  for  Elec.  Givers,  98 
Tricks  of  Skinning,  .  .  .  624 
Triennial  Catalogue,  The,  .  .  683 
Reunions,  The,  .  .  539 
Trumbull  Gallery,  .  .  .21 

Trust  Association,  .     127 

Undergraduate  Quarterly,  The,     .  448 

Uniforms  of  Boating  Men,     .         .  3^5 

Uninvited  Guests  at  College,          .  295 

Union  College  Regatta,  The  First,  369 

Hall,  Erection  of,        .         .  17 

University  Quarterly,  The,    .         .  448 

Races,  The  Seven,    378,  397 

Velocipedes,  ....     529 

Verb,  to  Skin,  The,  .  .  .620 
Vicarious  Examination,  A,  .  .  641 
Victory  of '59,  The  First  Aquatic,  371 
Vocabulary  of  College  Words,  .  42 
Voting  at  State  Elections,  .  .  522 

Walking,  Habits  of,  .  .  .  532 
Wanderings  of  the  Infant  College,  3 
Warnings,  Course  of  Discipline,  .  582 
Wherry  Races,  .  .  358,  360,  364 


712 


ADDENDA  ET  CORRIGENDA. 


Widows,  College, 
Williams  College  Chemists,  . 
Winthrop  Trust  Association, 
Worcester  Regattas, 
Wooden  Spoon  Presentation. 


523 


Wool?ey  Scholarship,  The, 

Working  up  a  Case, 

Works  relating  to  the  College, 

Yale,  Elihu, 


PAGE 

.     601 


ADDENDA    ET    CORRIGENDA. 

Page  12,  line  7  from  bottom.  In  June  of  the  present  year,  the  Legislature 
adopted  a  bill,  providing  that  at  the  Commencement  of  1872,  the  alumni  shall  elect 
six  representatives  to  take  the  plice  of  the  six  ex-officio  State  senators  in  the  col 
lege  corporation.  The  six  shall  decide  by  lot  as  to  the  individuals  whose  terms  of 
service  shall  be  one,  two,  three,  four,  five  or  six  years  ;  and  at  each  subsequent 
Commencement  the  alumni  shall  elect  one  representative  for  the  full  term  of  six 
years.  Re  elections  are  allowable,  and  all  Bachelors  of  five  years'  standing,  and 
all  holders  of  any  higher  degree,  are  to  be  allowed  to  vote, — under  such  regulations 
as  the  corporation  may  deem  proper.  The  proposition  to  reconsider  the  bill,  for 
the  purpose  of  amending  some  of  the  details,  is  before  the  Legislature,  as  this  book 
goes  to  press  (June  17). 

P.  41,1.  18.  The  original  Farnam  gift  was  $30,000,  and  a  like  amount  was  after 
wards  added  to  it,  so  that,  with  accumulations  of  interest,  it  paid  for  something 
more  than  two  thirds  the  cost  of  Farnam  College, — which  was  $100,000,  instead  of 
about  $'10,000,  as  stated  on  p.  30,  1.  9  from  bottom. 

P.  41,  1.  10  from  bot.,  for  William,  rend  John  J.  On  the  same  page  mention 
should  have  been  made  of  the  gift  of  #10,000,  from  Henry  W.  Sage  of  Brooklyn,  to 
found  the  "  Beecher  lectureship"  in  the  Theological  School  ;  of  the  will  of  Philip 
Marrett  of  New  Haven,  leaving  to  the  college  one  fifth  of  his  estate,  wherefrom  it 
is  expected  that  after  the  termination  of  certain  life  interests,  about  $120,000  will 
be  derived  ;  and  of  the  project  of  O.  F.  Winchester  of  New  Haven  to  expend 
about  $100,000  in  the  establishment  of  an  observatory. 

Pp.  96,  121.  This  year  the  sophomore  and  junior  societies  gave  out  their  (.lec 
tions  between  9  and  n  o'clock  in  the  evening. — the  faculty  not  allowing  them  to 
sing  their  songs  upon  the  street  later  than  the  latter  hour.  Their  respective  initia 
tions  were  held  June  9  and  16.  P.  150,  1.  19.  The  Bones  elections  were  given  out 
June  8,— five  weeks  before  Commencement,— and  the  initiations  were  held  the 
following  Tuesday  evening.  The  engine  house  behind  Alumni  Hall  served  as  a 
rendezvous  for  the  neophytes  on  initiation  night.  The  Keys  elections  and  initia 
tions  occurred  two  weeks  Liter  than  those  of  Bones. 


ADDENDA    E  T  CORRIGENDA.  7  T  3 

P.  315,  1.  7-  Additions  to  the  ball  record  of  1871  are  as  follows,  the  Yale  score 
being  first  noted  :  May  20,  Mutua's,  3  to  28  ;  June  7,  Athletics  of  Brooklyn,  12  to 
8  ;  June  10,  Atlantics,  12  to  3  ;  June  14,  Haymakers,  8  to  34-  The  latter  club 
was  defeated  by  the  Harvard  nine,  May  17,  15  to  8.  The  fourth  University  match 
between  Yale  and  Harvard  is  to  be  played  at  New  Haven,  the  first  week  in  July  ; 
and  the  freshman  ('74)  match  at  Springfield,  June  24. 

P.  360,  1.  4.  The  second  barge  race  for  the  Phelps  flag  took  place  June  7,  1871, 
and  was  won  by  'Seventy-Four,  in  22:03;  followed  by  the  Scientifics,  in  22:58, 
and  'Seventy-Three,  in  2^:13}^.  The  latter  boat  carried  35  Ibs.  handicap,  aiu; 
shipped  considerable  water,  as  the  waves  were  rough,  and  it  drew  the  outside  course. 

P.  399,  1.  i  from  bottom.  Under  date  of  May  28,  Harvard  reconsidered  its  for 
mer  action,  and  offered  to  row  a  separate,  straight  race  with  Yale  :  but  Yale,  at  a 
meeting  of  May  31,  voted  to  stand  by  its  final  action  of  the  week  before,  and 
inform  Harvard  that  its  repentance  came  too  late  for  recognition  this  year. 

P.  92,  1.  16  from  bot.,  for  parent,  read  present.  P.  113,  1.  7  from  bot.,  for  1855, 
read  1844.  P.  144,  1.  i  from  bot.,  for  that  now  than,  razrfthan  that  now.  P.  203, 
1.  9  from  bot  ,  for  proportionate,  rend  proportionately.  P.  206,  1.  3,  for  #400,  rend 
$4000.  P.  236,  1.  i  from  bot.,  for  graved,  rend  engraved.  P.  398,  1.  5  from  bot., 
for  July  14,  rend  July  21. 

Minor  Errata. 

Page  51,  line  12  from  bottom,  comparisons  for  comparison;  p.  58,  1.  13  from 
bot.,  Noou  for  Noou  ;  p.  109,  1.  17  from  bot.,  Phi  U  for  Psi  U  ;  p.  189,  1.  13  from 
bot.,  scholorship  for  scholarship  ;  p.  223, 1.  i  from  bot.,  sociey  for  society  ;  p.  268, 
1.  19,  nigrescent  for  nigrescent  ;  p.  327,  1.  10,  1858  for  1859  ;  p  332,  1.  8  from  bot., 
ragatta  for  regatta  ;  p.  439,  1.  3,  Olmstead  for  Olmsted  ;  p.  441,  1.  18,  71  for  '71  ; 
1.  20,  Keyes  for  Keys  ;  p.  451,  1.  5  from  bot.,  '41  for  '42  ;  p.  465,  1.  4  from  bot., 
gradaate  for  graduate  ;  p.  473,  last  line,  socities  for  societies  ;  p.  578,  1.  2,  dscipline 
for  discipline  ;  p.  621,  1.  i,  doublles  for  doubtless. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
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sect  to  recall  after  — 


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